Employees reported of not being paid for two months 

Employment: About 83 employees of SKW-Tashi Metals and Alloys Private Limited of Pasakha have sought the Phuentsholing labour office’s intervention to avail their two months salary.

The company, it has been learnt has temporarily remained shut since July this year.

SKW-Tashi Metals and Alloys Private Limited is calcium silicon manufacturing plant in Pasakha worth Nu 1123.22 million. It is a partnership between Tashi Metals and Alloys Private Limited and the German based company SKW Stahl Metallurgie Holding AG.

According to labour officials, the 83 employees of the FDI Company had appealed on December 1 seeking intervention.

Regional labour director, Sonam Tenzin said the employees had not received their salary for October and November this year.

“We went for inspection that same day,” he said, adding the labour office then issued a notice on the non-payment of salary. “We gave the company time, until today to make the payment.”

Sonam Tenzin said their office-received information from the company yesterday evening that the employees were paid. “We have to follow up with the employees now,” the regional director said.

One of the employees said they were paid the October salary in full while they received only 80 percent of their salaries for November. They are expecting the remaining 20 percent to be deposited today.  “The company should have informed us about the situation and now we are wonder if they would say pay us the salary for December,” the employee, a father of two said.

Although the company has been closed since July, employees were paid their salaries monthly. There are more than 200 employees.

Key officials of the company could not be contacted for comments on the current status of the company and the reasons for its closure.

Commissioned in 2011, the FDI Company has the German SKW hold 51 percent of the ownership, while the remaining 49 percent belongs to Tashi Metals. The project was approved in 2008.

Rajesh Rai, Phuentsholing

…and Chapcha gewog’s yearlong wait for an approval came through yesterday 

Visit: For the past one year, Chapcha gup Dorji Penjore has been running from one agency to another in the capital seeking approval to relocate the gewog centre.

The decision finally came in their favour when Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay approved it on the spot during his visit to the gewog yesterday evening.

“If people have given the clearance and the budget is allotted, the government doesn’t have an issue,” lyonchoen said.

The home ministry will issue its approval within this month, he told the gathering in presence of Home Minister Dawa Gyaltshen.

Gup Dorji Penjore said the Gross National Happiness Commission has approved the budget to relocate the office, but the home ministry did not issue the approval for the relocation.

“Just last week I approached the local government department director general to check on the approval and it was still pending,” the gup said.

The concern was that the budget, Nu 3 million (M), would go back if the gewog administration was unable to obtain the approval before the end of the fiscal year.

“We’re so relieved now,” gup Dorji Penjore said.

One of the tshogpas, Tobgay said there were difficulties for people to come to the centre without a road.

The existing gewog office at Gumti, 700 metres from Tanalung checkpost towards Thimphu over a three-acre land is on a steep slope and unsuitable for expansion to accommodate RNR offices and the community centre, which would cater government to citizen services.

The office would be relocated to Zimilaga, at the junction to Chapcha School and the town.

“Being close to Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway, it saves the government expenses on blacktopping the gewog road,” a gewog official said.

The gewog intends to use the old one as a guesthouse for civil servants visiting the gewog.

More than 100 people attended the meeting with the prime minister in Bjabcho gewog yesterday morning.

Lyonchoen commended the villagers for availing Business Opportunity Information Centre’s loans for various businesses.

Of the 220 projects the dzongkhag proposed to the centre, 58, worth Nu 17.958M were approved. More than half of the approved projects, 37 worth Nu 6.89M, are from Bjabcho gewog.

“While people might say anything about the centre, its establishment was legal and now we’re going to make it a state-owned enterprise. I urge you to propose more projects to take advantage of the opportunity,” lyonchoen said.

There are 1,506 projects across the nation worth Nu 366.617M.

A total of 16 projects have started work, most of them in agriculture and growing vegetables.

The biggest project is a cattle farm worth Nu 2.6M in Wangkha. The other projects are in agriculture sector.

“For those of you who have not applied need not worry as there is plenty of fund available,” the Prime Minister said.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay informed the people on the annual dzongkhag and gewog performance agreements and the annual budget for the respective gewogs.

Villagers also raised farm road maintenance issues, and compensation for land damaged during Damchu-Chukha highway, among others.

There are 230 households in Bjabcho gewog and 464 in Chapcha gewog.

Lyonchoen will visit Bongo gewog, Chukha today.

Tshering Palden, Chukha

The World Bank is funding the upgrade of 77 more bus stops in the city

Transport: As part of an effort to improve public transport in Thimphu city, a model bus stop was inaugurated along the expressway, yesterday.

The unique features of the bus stop include a roof designed to look like a leaf to symbolically reflect the country’s environment policy. Seating that can accommodate up to 48 people, according to calculations by the information and communications ministry, is also provided.

A bus bay that allows the bus to park off the expressway so that it does not impede traffic during dropping off or picking up commuters has also been constructed.

A surveillance camera is also installed to monitor the travel behaviour of commuters and provide a record in case of any incident. On the steel pillar that holds up the roof, one of the pillar’s sides has been used to display a map that shows the location of the bus stop and route network.

Timings and frequency of buses would be added later. Social messages and advertisements will also be placed in the future.

There has also been a focus on providing adequate lighting to encourage women and children to use the bus after dark. The bus stop is also wheelchair accessible.

In an ambitious move, the ministry is also exploring the installation of free Wi-Fi internet at the bus stop. “These kinds of facilities will have direct and significant impact on changing the model shift from private cars to public transport in future,” the project’s manager, Sonam Dendup, said.

The bus stop was built at a cost of Nu 900,000 which some observers said was expensive.

However, it was pointed out by the architect, Phil McMaster, that 30 percent of the cost went into training Construction Development Corporation Ltd (CDCL) workers. McMaster designed the bus stop for free and it was constructed using CDCL workers who are also expected to work on the remaining stops.

Thimphu city has 105 bus stops, and the World Bank is funding the upgrade of 77 more. The model bus stop inaugurated yesterday was funded by the UNDP.

The cost of constructing the bus stops are expected to go down as more are built. McMaster said the that the constructing crew had not worked on such a structure prior but would now know how to build later models more efficiently, bringing down costs by 40-50 percent.

Sonam Dendup also added that economy of scale once production starts would drive down costs as well.

There was also some questions on why a simpler rectangular roof was not used.

McMaster said that the goal was to have a design that was “unmistakably Bhutanese” and not “out of a box that came from some other country”.

He said that other shapes had been looked at and different designs would still be explored for subsequent bus shelters as other locations would require smaller bus stops. He added that local artists both traditional and contemporary could also be requested to decorate some of the bus shelters so that each one is unique when it comes to arts and crafts.

The thromde, and information and communications ministry will also be open for public feedback on the model bus stop. The model bus stop will not be a final design, the information and communications secretary, Dasho Kinley Dorji, said.

Information and communications minister, DN Dhungyel said that the ministry is committed to constructing bus stops in all the 105 remaining locations within the next few years.

The minister pointed out that there are more than 76,000 vehicles in the country today of which more than half are located in Thimphu city. Lyonpo said Thimphu’s roads are already congested and that studies indicate that without any government intervention, it would take almost an hour to drive from one end of the expressway to the other.

To address the congestion, lyonpo DN Dhungyel said, the government is not only committed to improving the city bus service by increasing its fleet and improving infrastructure but also studying the feasibility of a congestion charge.

Thimphu thrompon, Kinlay Dorjee said that while the bus stop was well designed, rather than building up to 70 more bus stops under the next component funded by the World Bank more buses should be purchased. Thimphu city is currently served with 34 buses with an additional 18 expected under World Bank support.

The thrompon said that 18 additional buses may not be enough. He said at least 30 more buses need to be added. He also pointed out that some corporations have approached the thromde to construct bus stops as part of their corporate social responsibility which could make up for the amount of World Bank funding that is transferred for the purchase of more buses.

The next stage of the project is expected to commence by mid-next year.

Gyalsten K Dorji

Insurance: Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited launched five new insurance policies yesterday including two life insurance schemes.

Life insurance policies are Endowment plan for senior citizens with guaranteed additions and double cover endowment plan without profit. General insurance policies include loan care insurance policy, Dhatsip ngen-sung ley-char (an insurance policy for archery enthusiasts or the first sport insurance scheme), and Hoteliers and Restaurants Insurance Policy.

Endowment plan for senior citizens with guaranteed addition policy gives insurance to people who are 55-70 years of age and those who are retiring employees of public and business agencies or people with advanced age from the rural community can earn fixed income through guaranteed addition.

Double cover endowment plan without profit policy gives insurance to people of 18-65 years. It offers double the sum assured on maturity of the policy term along with a fixed income earned through guaranteed additions. The terms available for both the policies are 5-20 years.

Loan care insurance policy is designed for borrowers who avail loan from financial institutions within the country. “It is a policy to protect the survivors of the borrower if he is dead, ill or is terminated from service,” head corporate strategy and planning division head Tshewang Jurmey said.

Hoteliers and Restaurants Insurance Policy is for any hotels and restaurants around the country. The CEO of RICBL, Namgyal Lhendup, said their main aim for coming up with such a policy is that with the increase in number of tourists visiting the country, tourists want to stay at hotels that are insured.

Dhatsip ngen-sung ley-char covers both insured and third party liability and it provides five optional schemes like in an archery match, Daya, Karey, Gorthey, Dobjey and Choenda. This policy is for individuals and teams taking part in tournaments. It provides insurance for tournaments within the country only and archers playing either with compound or traditional bow.

Staff Reporter

Agriculture: Climate change might already be affecting rice yield in Bumthang going by an increasing reports of yield decline although ADB’s recent report on assessing climate change costs in south asia predicts rice yield to decline only by 2050 for Bhutan.

While ADB’s recent report predicts rice yield to increase in higher altitudes until 2030 because of gradual rise in global temperature, rice yield in Bumthang, which is located 2650masl is rather declining since 2012.

Only scientific research might tell if it’s really climate change behind the yield slump but rice growers are already grappling with waning yield ssince 2012.

Following reports of declines in yield in Wangdi Chhoeling and the Jambay Lhakhang area, the Renewable Research and Development Centre (RRDC) in Bumthang recently released a new climate resistant rice variety, JRN White.

“JRN White was issued following reports of decline in the yield from the only variety grown in Bumthang, Jakar Ray Naap,” RRDC senior researcher, Rabgyel Dukpa said. He added that JRN White was distributed after rice growers agreed to try for an alternative variety if Jakar Ray Naap failed.

JRN White is considered climate resistant because of its resistance to climate change induced pests, diseases and changing weather conditions. “JRN White’s yield of 2.2 tonnes per acre is also the highest amongst the six varieties grown on-station in the centre,” Rabgyel Dukpa said.

RRDC was growing on-station six rice varieties such as JRN White, Chandanath I, Chandanath III, JRN Awn and Khangma Maap. “These varieties were grown in on-station to replace if by chance Jakar Ray Naap failed because of diseases of pests with changing weather conditions,” Ranbgyel Dukpa said.

Though Jakar Ray Naap is still the preferred variety among many farmers of Tang and Choekhor, JRN White was introduced for the rice growers of Wangdi Chhoeling and Jambay Lhakhang areas, where the yield was reported declining.

In Wangdi Chhoeling, Karma Yangzom’s rice yield from a field as big as a basketball court decreased to around 600kgs from over 1,500kgs before. “Yield has never been so poor like this year,” Karma Yangzom said.

Her neighbour, Yeshey, harvested only around 200kgs of rice from a field the size of  a football pitch.

Results from the RRDC on-station also showed that the yield from JRN, which initially produced 2.2-2.4 tonnes of rice per acre in 2003 dropped to 2.2 tonnes per acre over the years.

According to rice growers the decline in yield is caused by an unfamiliar disease, which is affecting the rice plants during grain formation. “There are only empty husks since grain formation was affected from dying saplings,” Karma Yangzom said.

A rice grower from Jalikhar, Sonam Tobgye attributed the new diseases to rising temperatures in the dzongkhag. “Because now the temperature in Bumthang is getting as warm as Trongsa, plant diseases, which we have never seen before in rice is now making its way here,” he said.

Rabgyel Dukpa said while multiple factors are causing the declining yield, one specific reason was Whitehead infestation, which was seen in the rice fields of Bumthang only in recent years.

“Whitehead affects the grain formation leading to empty husks,” he said, adding climate change could likely have had a role because rice cultivation in Bumthang is possible because of the rising temperature.

Rice cultivation in Bumthang began only in 2003. Its cold whether conditions made rice cultivation unfavourable although attempts were made as far back as 70 years ago. “But without scientific study neither can the decline in rice yield be attributed to climate change nor can it be absolved as a factor,” Rabgyel Dukpa said.

Nevertheless, dzongkhag agriculture officer, Gaylong said numerous factors could be responsible for the poor yield. “Diseases, degraded soil fertility over the years, excess nitrogen and poor management of water and cultivation could also have led to yield loss,” Gaylong said.

He added that the disease is not necessarilyclimate change induced as it could have spread through a nursery in Trongsa used for paddy cultivation in Bumthang. “To prevent spread of soil diseases and blast by growing nursery in lower altitudes, polythene sheets has been issued to the farmers here to enable nursery raising in Bumthang,” Gaylong said.

Over 30kgs of JRN White will be cultivated on trail from 2016.

The research centre has also distributed Chandanath I to the farmers to study its viability.

Tempa Wangdi, Bumthang

The gender index assesses countries across health, education, economic opportunities and political empowerment

Ranking: Although Bhutan has moved two places up in the recently released Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR) 2015, its gender-based disparities are one of the worst in South Asia.

Bhutan is ranked 118, only ahead of Pakistan in the region, which is ranked 144 out of 145 countries.

The index assesses the countries across four pillars – health, education, economic opportunities and political empowerment.

Bhutan made improvement in educational attainment, which has been boosted by an enrolment in tertiary education. Girls make up 44 percent of the total enrolment at the tertiary level in Bhutan.

The country’s score in heath and survival, and political empowerment, however, remained the same.

Among the 145 countries, Bhutan stands at 121 in education, two places up from 123 last year. However, Bhutan has slipped two places down in politics – 130 in 2014 to 132 in 2015 ranking.

There are only six female parliamentarians in the 72-member Parliament – four in the National Assembly and two in the national Council. In the local government, 93 percent of the elected leaders are male and only 7 percent female.

Chairperson of the Parliament’s Women, Children and Youth Committee, Karma Dorji, said no issue related to gender was referred to the committee by any agency. He said that if there are women-related issues that can be addressed through legislation, the committee will make recommendations in the Parliament.

“For instance, we have studied the six-month maternity leave proposed by the Royal Civil Service Commission,” he said. “The government has taken the proposal positively,” he said.

Bhutan’s rank this year is 25 places below where it stood two years back in 2013, when the country was placed at 93th position. The gender index had fallen to 120th position in 2014 from 93th position in 2013.

In the SAARC region, Bangladesh is ranked highest at 64, Sri Lanka 84, India 108, Nepal 110, Maldives 113.

The World Economic Forum first introduced the index in 2006 as a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress.

While no country has entirely eliminated the gender gap, Iceland tops the index for the seventh consecutive year. Its records are boosted by high level of female political representation (41 percent), generous paternity leave policies and world-class opportunities for women to become business leaders.

According to the report, women are not likely to reach economic equality until 2133 and the gap between the economic opportunities available to men and women has narrowed by 3 percent in the last decade. “At that rate, women will not achieve financial parity for another 118 years.”

Officially, there is no gender divide in Bhutan as women are constitutionally guaranteed equal rights, but gender disparities remain in various forms, according to reports. For example,  among the working-age population, six percent of Bhutanese women, compared with 12 percent of men, contribute to a pension scheme. This is according to a UN report on progress of the world’s women 2015-16.

The index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria, and provides country ranking for effective comparisons across regions and income groups. The ranking is designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them.

The most important determinant of a country’s competitiveness is its human talent – the skills and productivity of its workforce. Similarly, an organisation’s performance is determined by the human capital that it possesses and its ability to use this resource efficiently.

Ensuring healthy development and appropriate use of half of the world’s available talent pool has a vast bearing on how competitive a country may become or how efficient it can be.

MB Subba

The gewogs’ vast size and scattered settlement makes service delivery a challenging task, the gups informed the PM

Visit: Bifurcation of a gewog each from Bongo and Darla gewogs, admission of children in Pakshingkha Central School (PCS) from areas within five kilometres, and connecting Jemichu-Baikunza bridge were among the several issues Bongo gewog representatives raised to Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay during his visit yesterday.

Bongo gup Tashi Dorji said it has become important that a separate gewog was created, as these two gewogs were huge, which made it difficult to render service.

“There are numerous challenges,” the gup said explaining the major problems came because there were few villages far from the gewog.

Toktogom village in Bongo, the gup said was five hours walk from Bjabcho gewog and is located entirely in a different location.

Today, people have to travel to Tshimasham and to Bjabcho to reach the walking point to Toktogom.

Zamsa, another village, also had similar problems. After 46km of drive from Pakshingkha, villagers have to today walk for about three hours to reach their homes in Zamsa.

Similarly, villagers from Bongo travel to Pipin from Darla for about 45km, and walk another five hours to reach Baikunza.

“Different routes to reach different villages make it difficult for us to meet often,” gup Tashi Dorji said.

Bongo and Darla gewog representatives had raised the issue in the Dzongkhag Tshogdu (DT). A separate gewog each from Bongo and Darla was proposed then but nothing has happened to date.

The two gewogs’ gups again raised this issue in the last DT in September this year. Gup Tashi Dorji said dzongkhag officials have submitted the matter to the government but they haven’t heard anything.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay spoke to about 150 villagers at PCS on this issue.

“If this is benefiting, we will look at it,” he said, adding that the people should first discuss and consult within themselves. “It is not easy.”

However, lyonchoen also made it clear that people should not ask for extra gewog just to avail extra budget.

Bongo mangmi Sangay Dorji, meanwhile, raised the issue related to the PCS and admission of children from nearby villages.

However, he said that day-scholar students from these villages were not provided facilities the central school students avail today.

Lyonchoen said it has just been a year that central schools have started in the country.

“We are working very hard,” he said. “We have to go one after another and not at a time.”

Bongo gup told Kuensel there is an understanding at PCS that the children from poor families and living within five kilometers distance from the central school are deprived of admission, while children of financially well off parents from outside were allowed admission. There are about 30 children that fall under the five-kilometer range from the central school. “Their parents are all humble peasants,” the gup said.

Meanwhile, Lyonchoen also gave a green signal to the people’s request for a bridge at the Jemichu-Baikunza. “I will look at it myself,” he said.

A suspension bridge over Jemichu-Baikunza was cut lose in 2003 for security reasons and wasn’t reconstructed. Today, villagers of Baikunza use ropeway to cross the river.

Meanwhile, Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay informed the villagers about becoming self-sufficient farmers. He spoke on the upcoming farm shops, gewog banking, and opportunities Business Opportunity and Information Centre offered to the public.

Rajesh Rai, Bongo

Workshop: Anti-Corruption Commission is an organization that promotes integrity to reduce corruption and not a terror organization, chairperson Kinley Yangzom said.

The commission is working towards rebranding itself to paint the true picture and remove the false perception of its being a terror organisation among people or potential employees.

Senior employees of ACC spent the whole day yesterday, the second day of a three-day workshop on the rebranding exercise.

“We want to make ACC an employer of choice, unlike now, so that people would want to come and work here,” Kinley Yangzom said.

ACC has existed for the past nine years but problems of backlog cases remain because of human resource shortage.

“We also want to take care of our employees,” she said, which is why the commission will implement its HR master plan soon. “That’s why the previous commission also worked on it and we just can’t just recruit anybody given the nature of the job.”

One of the main outputs of the master plan is a competency framework that would guide the commission in recruitment, training and promotion of its staff.

“We’re also considering how best to motivate the staff; money alone is not enough because the job is demanding,” she said. “They have to have opportunities to learn and progress in their career as well.”

Currently, she said the staff are overworked and the system is not sustainable. The commission is exploring other funding avenues to ensure its sustainability.

One of the resource persons, (Dr) Adrian Chan said the consultants putting together the master plan tabled five recommendations to better the commission.

“With new challenges of cyber crime and white-collar corruption, ACC needs to grow much quicker to address these challenges,” he said.

He said the way to fight corruption in future is through a lot of partnership and alliances, which requires the commission to work with other international organisations.

Good leadership and HR management practices, as proposed in the master plan, must prevail to make ACC the employer of choice.

“Because fighting corruption cannot be just ACC’s responsibility, we have recommended secondments, and internships with other ministries,” (Dr) Adrian Chan, who is also a faculty of RIGSS and a HR resource person at the His Majesty’s Secretariat, said.

The workshop ends today.

Tshering Palden

Conference: In what could be taking the method of infrastructure planning to the next level, a Geographic Information System (GIS) will be used in the 12th Plan.

That means any government agencies making plans for infrastructure development will need to inform the National Land Commission (NLC), the custodian of GIS. NLC will help the agency with identifying the development area (state or private land) and firstly complete the compensation process if private land is required, among others.

“GIS is important for the preparation of the 12th Five Year Plan,” Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay said speaking at the first ever National Geo-Conference in Thimphu yesterday.

He said coordination among agencies in using GIS for planning activities was a major problem in the past and the conference is critical for Bhutan as GIS is important. Today there are about 32 agencies using GIS, which will now enable them coordinating their efforts so that the country can benefit.

While GIS is important for all countries, he said,it is particularly critical in three areas for Bhutan. The country has small population and therefore GIS services is required for spatial planning. GIS is also important because of the topography, which has populations spread across high mountains and narrow valleys. The third reason was that planning properly is a must for a poor country so that limited resources are used most efficiently.

To ensure that we are true to our commitments, such as being carbon neutral for all times to come, we must make sure we do proper planning, he said. This is where GIS and spatial planning comes, lyonchoen added.

To improve agriculture, ensure food security, improve the quality of Bhutanese produce, allow farmers to prosper, we must ensure they have proper opportunities, he pointed out. Those opportunities will be available if proper planning is done, he added.

“Spatial planning is fundamental for most of our planning,” he said, adding the recently declared 16 new thromdes also need to be properly planned.

“If we are to improve planning in Bhutan and take it to next level, we must ensure spatial planning and efficient use of GIS,” he said. “If there is one area that the government has focused on in the last three years in terms of governance, it is coordination. This I believe is an auspicious start.”

Today, there are over 100 GIS experts from 32 different agencies, including the private sector, who are members of the Centre of GIS Coordination (CGISC). The centre works with the primary goal of sharing resources and avoiding duplication in the spatial industry.

The National Land Commission is also working towards publication of the first ever Atlas of Bhutan on the dual theme of land cover and intuitional facilities. The publication is expected to be completed by next year.

NLC secretary Pema Chewang said the topographical base maps generated in the 1960s are out-dated and fall far short of serving as a source of fundamental information for planning and decision making purposes. The commission and JICA are currently executing a mapping project in seven southern dzongkhags.

“The commission and CGISC have been working towards creating a geographic information policy, whose concept was approved by the Cabinet,” he said, adding that draft of the policy will soon be submitted to the government for approval.

Presenting on the state of GIS education in Bhutan, a lecturer at Royal Thimphu College (RTC), Dr Samir S Patel said most tertiary educations in Bhutan offer modules on Remote Sensing and GIS, GIS Application in Spatial Analysis and Photogrammetry, among others.

Geospatial knowledge and skills is an important part of the national workforce, added Dr Karen Beardsley, a Fulbright professor at RTC.

“Becoming GIS-educated goes beyond geography. It will help gain research skills, develop problem-solving abilities, manage large real-world problems,” she said.

Nirmala Pokhrel

Pollution: Although common, health officials in Nganglam are calling on relevant authorities to look into addressing the increasing dust pollution in the town after they received more than 4,000 patients suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) this year.

Health officials caution that if no measures are taken to control the dust pollution, the community is at high risk of reporting more ARI cases along with asthma and pneumonia.

The concern was shared to the public during one of the recent meetings with the dungkhag officials, where health assistant PK Chettri said, the ARI case load is an increase of more than 500 from last year.

The most common disease reported this year was common cold, tonsillitis and pneumonia among people from two months –more than 40 years old.

The dungkhag’s town road is in dire need of maintenance and continuous movement of about 200 trucks carrying cement, coal and gypsum, everyday has turned the town into a dusty settlement.

Although no survey was conducted, PK Chhetri said dust pollution is among the many factors responsible for causing ARI.

“If possible, concerned authorities should either repair the road or water the road to settle the dust and monitor trucks carrying load are well covered,” he said.

In October alone, there were 251 patients diagnosed with ARI and 24 with pneumonia.

“The dry season would continue until April so some kind of control measure is important,” he said. “Residents should visit the hospital immediately when caught with cold.”

The dungkhag administration has no environment officer and Pemagatshel’s environment officer Chimmi Wangchuk said they have received no complaint from the people about the dust. But he said it is the responsibility of the agency concerned to maintain the road.

Although it is mandatory for trucks to cover their load with tarpaulin, he said he has never managed to monitor the trucks nor visit the town to check its dust pollution.

“It’s because of lack of human resources. We need an additional official stationed in the dungkhag to monitor everyday,” he said.

He said they would require a technician and an equipment to measure dust pollution, which is not available in the dzongkhag. “But it would not be life threatening unless the dust pollution is coming from a factory,” he said.

Yangchen C Rinzin,  Samdrupjongkhar 

Working visa to foreign interns or individual volunteers will not be issued unless they are from institutionalized agencies

Labour: Foreigners willing to work in the capacity of any professional category in the country will henceforth require a minimum qualification of a bachelor’s degree with at least three years experience.

This is one of the 75 new components in the revised Immigration Rules and Regulations, 2015 that was launched yesterday, and comes into effect immediately.

According to the revised rules, work permit application for employment in professional category should be supported by relevant notarized qualification certificate and a minimum of bachelor’s degree with at least three years experience in the relevant field.

Department of Immigration’s director general, Thinlay Wangchuk, said the minimum qualification criteria was set because currently, foreign individuals with low level of qualification were seen holding higher positions in the country. “We need experts with experience to come and impart their knowledge to the Bhutanese,” he said. “This rule will also have a positive contribution to the current unemployment scenario in the country.”

As of yesterday, there are 48,299 foreign workers in the country of which 1,781 individuals are under professional category in the field of managers, engineers, doctors and different technical specialists.

Of the total expatriate workers, 37,653 are plumbers, electricians, painters, drivers and masons among others. The remaining 8,865 expatriate workers include hospital staff, cooks, accountants and other assistant labourers.

The repelled rules do not specify the minimum qualification requirement and states only the need for a certificate.

Thinlay Wangchuk said the new rules were used as guidelines by the department for more than a year and half and saw it practical for further implementation. “With several new issues arising for the department, we felt the need to cover all those issues and hence the new regulations,” he said.

The 2012 rules covered only about 60-70 percent of the issues, he said.

According to the new rules, apart from volunteers coming from an institutionalized agency, foreign interns or individual volunteers will not be issued working visa henceforth.

Visa shall not be issued for volunteers, interns and tailor made or ad-hoc courses unless the tailor made course is organized by a government approved institute for a minimum of 10-15 foreign students under regular class program for at least three months, the revised rules states.

The new rules also mandates any foreign student studying in an academic institution, colleges, sherdras or drupdeys, to submit evidence of bank statement to meet the course fees, accommodation and maintenance of himself or herself without taking employment or engaging in business or having resource to public funds.

To reduce cases of fronting, the revised rules states that foreign individuals on immigration permit either on short-term visit or long term work or studies shall not be eligible for an immigration card. “He or she shall exit the country for six months and re-enter to apply for immigration card.”

According to the rules, unless otherwise specified under the relevant sections of this rules, all foreign workers shall remain outside the country for at least six months after completion of three years stay in the country without taking into consideration the 15 days period and change of employer.

Thinlay Wangchuk said the new regulations were framed considering the need of the individuals and also the proper functioning of the department. “Rules need to be transparent and it should cater to the mass,” he said.

The department will be issuing the revised rules and regulations to all agencies.

Younten Tshedup 

Health: The Cabinet has endorsed the proposed six months paid maternity leave along with six months flexi time.

Works and human settlement minister Dorji Choden said the cabinet reviewed and made necessary changes on the proposal in the recent Cabinet meeting. The approved proposal has been sent to the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC).

“The cabinet has approved it but it’s still work in progress,” lyonpo said adding that the Cabinet has approved the proposal of six months mandatory paid maternity leave along with six months of flexi time.

The six months flexi time would allow breastfeeding mothers in the civil service to work for half day.

“According to our plans, it should come through by January 1,” RCSC chairman Karma Tshiteem said.

Following a proposal from the government in January this year and a study by the commission, RCSC recommended that mothers be given six months paid maternity leave. The recommendations were submitted to the Cabinet for approval last month.

Extending maternity leave was also one of the pledges of the government.

Health minister Tandin Wangchuk said he welcomed the approval and is happy that the Cabinet has endorsed it.

As of June this year, there are 9,210 female civil servants, which constitute 34.4 percent of the total 26,699 civil servants. Of that 8,847 females are regular civil servants and 363 are on contract. During the last eight years, almost an equal number of females and males entered the Civil Service.

The sector with the lowest number of female civil servants falls under the arts, culture and literary group, which includes culture officers and translation services, among others, at 0.02 percent.

As per the labour force survey 2014, a majority of women are employed in the agriculture sector at 101,425 followed by 36,238 in the private sector while the armed force employs 562 female and 236 are in the non-government organizations.

Nirmala Pokhrel

This is in response to Kuensel’s editorial, “Who are we protecting” on December 9. Unfortunately, there are still people – even today in 2015 – who do not know enough about HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS. Because of this, people who are living with HIV; or are allegedly living with HIV can face prejudice and discrimination. The Government of Bhutan strongly supports a human rights approach to HIV, and encourages a passionate partnership with civil society, including people living with HIV.

Evidence and global experience shows that the best public health approach is ‘beneficial disclosure’ of HIV status. This approach emphasizes that individuals must have control over if, how and when to tell others about their HIV-positive status.

Beneficial disclosure is disclosure that is voluntary; respects the autonomy and dignity of the affected individuals; maintains confidentiality as appropriate; leads to beneficial results for the individual, his/her sexual and drug-injecting partners, and family; leads to greater openness in the community about HIV; and meets ethical standards so as to maximize good for both the uninfected and the infected.

What is raised in Kuensel’s editorial is the question if the need to protect others in the community is more important than the person living with HIV’s right to confidentiality. The answer is clear: The best public health approach, to which the Ministry of Health of Bhutan subscribes, encourages consistent use of condoms; especially in high-risk situations such as “picking up strangers in the street” and “being under the influence of alcohol.”

Only adequate public education, and awareness about the importance of one’s own protection against HIV infection, will solve these problems. Education of the public about HIV has made great progress since the early years when HIV was first discovered. However, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the means of transmitting HIV and the ability of people with HIV to lead normal lives. We need to educate people that people living with HIV are parents, spouses, friends, co-workers, teachers, professionals, and mentors. Until the public fully understands the reality of life with HIV, an infected person will probably want to, and has the right to, maintain some control over public knowledge of his/her status.

Using information about people living with HIV for public health goals must be balanced against the rights of individuals to privacy and confidentiality. UNAIDS stresses that individual and public rights must be balanced, and must be based on human rights principles. Countries need to develop and implement privacy and confidentiality laws. The development and review of such laws and procedures related to HIV information needs active participation from relevant stakeholders, including people living with and affected by HIV; health care professionals, and legal and ethical experts. It is important to adopt privacy and confidentiality laws, because prejudice and discrimination constitute the greatest barriers to dealing effectively with the HIV epidemic.

The woman, described in this article, therefore, poses no risk to others if not “preyed upon as an easy target” and there is no risk of spreading HIV when the strangers, who pick her up, always use condoms.

Breeching the right to confidentiality is not an effective tool for combating HIV, and is a distraction from programmes that we know work.

Dr Ruben F del Prado

UNAIDS Country Director for Nepal and Bhutan

delprador@unaids.org

Agrees in principle to supply 30 excavators and 20 backhoe machines

Grant: The government of Japan will grant machineries by June 2017 to help the government accomplish the farm road construction targets of the 11th Plan.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will supply at least 30 excavators, 20 backhoe machines and two trailers with other accessories in the third phase of the Japanese Grant aid project for improvement of machinery and equipment for construction of rural agricultural roads.

The delegates from JICA, Gross National Happiness Commission and agriculture department signed the minutes of discussions on the preparatory survey for the project in presence of the agriculture minister Yeshey Dorji yesterday in Thimphu.

Agriculture ministry has to construct about 2,500km of new farm roads in the 11th Plan. Of that, the ministry plans to construct 1,300km roads using equipment with the Central Machinery Unit in Bumthang.

However, given the shortage of machineries at the CMU it would be able to construct only 843km, with no prospect of completing the remaining 457km to meet the target of the Plan.

“Under these circumstances, the government requested Japan to help procure more machines, ”the executive engineer for farm roads with the engineering division Gyembo Tenzin said.

Following the request from the government during the ninth bilateral annual consultation with Japan last year, the Japan government entrusted the preparatory survey to JICA.

Based on the discussions and field survey conducted in last August and September in the country and verifying the basis and technical needs of the project, JICA prepared a Draft Preparatory Survey Report. The preparatory survey team led by JICA Senior Advisor, (Dr) Makoto Inaba, to explain the draft report and consult with the Bhutanese officials on its contents.

The draft report signed yesterday includes provisional project cost estimates, Japanese grant scheme, project implementation schedule, expected outcomes and indicators among others.

(Dr) Makoto  Inaba said that the machineries granted in previous projects have been utilized well.

“We also recognized that farms roads are essential to improve the lives of the people in the rural areas,” (Dr) Makoto Inaba said.

The project would be submitted to the Japanese Cabinet in February 2016 for approval.

Agriculture minister Yeshey Dorji said the machines would immensely benefit the people through the farm roads. The dzongkhags will be able to use the machines but have to bear the costs of fuel and other lubricants.

“The first two phases of the JICA assistance contributed to rural income generation and improved livelihoods by opening farmers up to the markets and services,” Gyembo Tenzin said. “It has also helped in the farm road construction capacity building.”

The ministry received 35 excavators, five bulldozers, five dump trucks, 10 vibration rollers, two trailers and two truck cranes in the previous two phases in the past two plans. With those machines, the ministry constructed 1,555km of farm roads.

“The continued support in the form of third phase will help achieve the targets of the Plan on  maintenance and construction of farm roads,” Gyembo Tenzin said.

CMU has 40 units of hydraulic excavators, five bulldozers, dump trucks, vibration rollers, air compressors and 10 units of wheel loaders besides other supporting machineries.

Tshering Palden

… as their land falls on both sides of the boundary which would mean they would be paying both rural and urban taxes

Boundary: Villagers of Thangchu Gonpa have once again appealed to Phuntshothang gewog if Samdrupjongkhar dzongkhag administration could opt for another area instead of their chiwog to be a part of the yenlag thromde.

This was in response to the dzongkhag administration’s recent letter to the Samdrupcholing dungkhag wherein the villagers were informed that the yenlag thromde has been already endorsed by parliament.

The letter, in response to a petition submitted by the villagers, also said the dzongkhag cannot revoke the Parliament’s decision and that Thangchu Gonpa would still be demarcated under the yenlag thromde as proposed.

The villagers had earlier submitted a petition signed by 58 households to the Samdrupcholing (earlier Bangtar) dungkhag, not to be a part of the yenlag thromde.

The villagers had said that each household had 50 decimals of their five acres within the thromde boundary, but the remaining would remain in the rural side, which means they will have to pay both rural and urban taxes.

The villagers requested that either their land be removed from the thromde boundary or that their entire five acres be demarcated as urban.

The dungkhag officials led by Dungpa Lobzang Dorji called a gathering and informed the villagers of the decision but the villagers refused to agree, the dungpa said.

Tshogpa Jigme Tenzin said since their earlier petition to demarcate the entire land as urban did not succeed, the villagers decided they would request the dzongkhag to at least leave out their chiwog and demarcate from another area near the present dungkhag bazaar, located about three kilometres from the chiwog.

He said there is plenty of land available beyond the bazaar and the chiwog should be left as it is.

“The first thing is we were not even informed the chiwog would come under the thromde, even the gewog officials were unaware,” he said, adding they became aware only after they received voter cards.

This, he said, came as a surprise for many and when enquired, the gewog officials informed they did not demarcate the chiwog as urban and that’s when they raised the issue.

“At least they could have informed us or clarified our doubts this time, but only a letter was sent through the dungkhag,” the tshogpa said. “Few years ago, a few villages including Thangchu Gonpa were kept as an option if the town planning needed an expansion in future but it was never put in as urban.”

He said villagers are still confused because as per their voter cards, they can participate only in the thromde theumi election because 50 decimals of their land is a part of the yenlag thromde, but they cannot participate in local government election when their 4.5 acres of land is still considered rural.

“There were a few who had aspired to contest for local government elections but now they are confused, which we feel officials should explain,” he said. “We don’t have any means to earn income other than few vegetables and betel nuts, how’re we going to pay two land taxes or construct infrastructure.”

The other reason he cited was they feared they would be deprived of rural facilities.

A majority of these villagers comprise of resettled retired soldiers. The Fourth Druk Gyalpo had granted land kidu in 1992. Although, each house is constructed on the 50-decimal land, the rest of the land is located a few metres from Thangchu Gonpa and not included within the thromde boundary.

The villagers are waiting for their second petition to the dungkhag. However, the dungkhag is yet to receive the petition from the gewog.

Phuntshothang gup Sangay said although the office knows about the yenlag thromde mapping issue, there was no mention of Thangchu Gonpa. They too came to know about the issue following the issuance of voter cards.

Meanwhile, dzongkhag engineer Pelden Norgay said the ministry, using Google Maps, did the mapping that mandated all institutions to be within the thromde boundary. Therefore, Thangchu Gonpa by default fell under the thromde because it is located between the dungkhag office and Samdrupcholing market.

“Now that it has already been approved by the Parliament at National level, dzongkhag doesn’t have authority to change the decision. They should not worry because unless the urban facilities have reached, they will not have to pay the tax nor will the government take their entire land for pooling.”

Samdrupcholing is 67km from Samdrupjongkhar.

Yangchen C Rinzin,  Samdrupjongkhar

While four land owners cry foul over compensation

PHPA II: Kinley Dorji, 54, has been living in a single storied structure at Kamichu market along the Tsirang-Wangdue highway for more than 23 years.  The structure is all that the family owns.

But as the year ends, the single father of two is worried. His structure, which was constructed on government land, would soon be dismantled.

A week ago the gewog had issued him a final notification to vacate the land by December 31. He was among the seven residents of Kamichu who according to the local government were illegal occupants.

The notification was issued as per the Land Act, which states that construction or occupying of any land irrespective of government or others is not allowed, if it does not belong to the occupant.

One of the occupants is 44-year old Sangay Choden. She runs a small shop at Kamichu market and has lived there for more than 24 years. “I am worried; this shop is our only source of income, which has helped me raise my children.”

Kinley Dorji said he has nowhere to go and owns no land. “I can’t even work.” Kinley suffered a major burn on his body few years ago while working at a hotel in Punakha.

Daga gewog’s administration officer Desang said they have been issuing several notifications since last year as per the land commission’s instruction but none of the occupants have complied with it.

This time he said the gewog has notified all residents, both illegal occupants and thram-holders to vacate the area by December 31, since the land would be used by Punatsangchu hydropower project Authority-II for the construction of a substation.

Desang said there are seven illegal occupants and seven thram holders, and a forestry office. PHPA has designated land substitutes for the forestry office and thram holders from an area that is located opposite Kamichu market.

While three of the seven thram-holders have accepted PHPA’s compensation and also taken land substitutes, the rest have refused. The three thram-holders who have accepted the compensation run shops in Kamichu while the other four do not have houses but owns land.

Wangchuk, a former gup is one of the landholders who have refused the compensation. He said he owns 13 decimal of land at Rurichu prior to PHPA construction. “When project construction started, my land was taken for PHPA-I and a substitute was given from Kamichu. We were told the Kamichu area would remain undisturbed by project activities back then,” he said.

He said they were given land substitutes in 2011 following which he has collected timber to construct house. But they were notified to stop the construction. “We were told they need that land for PHPA-II and would issue land substitute from other place,” he said. “Six years has passed and only few months ago I was called to the project office and asked to accept the compensation and land substitute.”

Dawa Gyelmo, Wangdue

Four dialysis machines are lying idle for want of space but work has begun to establish a new unit

Health: The country’s biggest hospital is short of space.

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital’s (JDWNRH) dialysis unit needs more space to accommodate both patients and dialysis machines.

The increasing number of patients with kidney failure has left the unit wanting for more dialysis machines but the limited space has left some machines idle.

Former Speaker Dasho Ugyen Dorji, yesterday, donated two haemodialysis machines to the hospital taking the total number of machines to 14.

The eight-bed dialysis unit was increased to 10 beds last month, to accommodate more patients. Currently, the unit’s 10 dialysis machines cater to 100 patients.  However, four machines are not in use.

Health officials said the extra machines would be used to replace the old machines once they stop functioning.

Patients with kidney failure undergo eight hours of dialysis session every week. In-charge Sabitri Sunwar, said that for adequate treatment, the patients must undergo at least three sessions a week. However, with the limited number of machines at the unit, only two sessions a week was possible, she said.

Health minister, Tandin Wangchuk said a separate dialysis unit with at least 20-beds would be established below the hospital to cater to more patients in the country. A ground breaking ceremony for the unit was also held recently.

The minister said that with economic activities picking pace in the country, the living standard of the people has also increased and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes are on the rise. “The number of patients who would need dialysis service is bound to increase,” he said.

A haemodialysis machine is used as an artificial replacement for dysfunctional kidney where it acts as a kidney and removes waste and excess water from the blood. With proper diet and exercise, patients undergoing dialysis can prolong their lives by more than 10 years, Sabitri Sunwar said.

The dialysis unit in Thimphu started in 1998 with two beds. There are three dialysis units in the country. Gelephu regional referral hospital has two dialysis machines that cater to 14 patients while Mongar regional referral hospital has four machines for 23 patients.

Younten Tshedup 

After much speculation, the cabinet has endorsed the six-month paid maternity leave along with another six months of flexi time. The leave for civil servants could come into effect from January 1.

This is a laudable decision. In a governance system where social welfare receives top priority, such initiatives bode well with our philosophy of happiness. Backed by reasoning based on health grounds, women will be able to exclusively breastfeed their babies and when work is not interrupting, childcare will improve.

Bhutan will join some of the developed nations where paid maternity leave is guaranteed for working mothers. In fact, we will be better than some of these countries. For instance, Germany has 12 weeks at 65 percent of the salary. The Netherlands and Spain gets 16 weeks with 100 percent salary. Bhutan with 24 weeks will be among the best working places for mothers in the world.

The question is what about the others. Soon after the news of the decision, both women and men outside the civil service are questioning if the facility would stretch to them. Some are assuming it will. And there are good reasons.

The proposal for the leave from the health ministry starts with defining exclusive breastfeeding followed by how important it is and why Bhutan needs to improve the breast feeding rate. There is a desperate need to increase the leave to six months, it says.

Going by the reasons, there is no question on why it should not stretch to public corporations and for that matter, the private sector.  According to the health ministry, the urgency comes from the fact that 37 percent of the children below five years of age are stunted and 11 percent underweight. This is attributed to poor breastfeeding. They found out that this could be improved by promoting six months exclusive breastfeeding.

If this is to improve, the leave should extend to other sectors. There are about 9,000 in the civil service, but what percentage do they represent the women population? If the breastfeeding rate is to improve, all mothers should be considered. Malnutrition or stunting is more prevalent in rural areas, among illiterate and poor mothers. How are we going to include them?

While we take pride in the decision, there are so many things to be considered.  The argument that the number of jobseekers wanting to become civil servants will increase is not a big concern. There are systems that will take care of that. What is a bigger concern is not including them, those working in corporations and private sector.

The proposal although endorsed is still a work in progress meaning that there are things that needs to be fine tuned. Decision makers should look into these issues before it comes into effect. Critics are of the view that the government used the health ministry to fulfil one its campaign pledges.   Those benefiting from the pledge will be grateful to the government, but if it is for votes, the government will know that there more voters outside the civil service.

There is no doubt that longer maternity leave would improve breastfeeding and strongly impact the rest of the child’s life. There is also no doubt that only a section of the society should not benefit from a policy.