Profile: Dasho Neten Zamgmo, the former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson, described herself as happy and satisfied post-retirement.

The former chairperson moved to Dewathang in Samdrupjongkhar after her retirement to be the executive director of the Samdrupjongkhar Initiative (SJI), a civil society organization founded by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.

Leaving Thimphu and working with communities at the grass roots level has always been Dasho Neten’s dream. She did not hesitate to leave the urban life, which she had enjoyed for more than 20 years, after retiring.

Today, as she sits inside a small room with a computer and printer, empty file racks, her slippers neatly arranged by her table, she says she does not regret her decision.

“I have now a satisfying and happy life and I am really loving it,” she says. “I didn’t even have a printer in ACC,” she adds. “Of course, when I was with ACC it was the best experience too, but I really didn’t get a chance where I get to sit, laugh, gossip and discuss with people together like I get now, this is exactly what I wanted in my life.”

Sipping on her lemon tea, she says, “You see, it’s actually an amazing process I am going through where I’m learning a lot and it’s no more about sitting on a high chair or expensive carpets. But sometimes emotional when I get to see the reality of people’s lives they are living in.”

Dressed in her usual full Kira, wonju and tego, every morning she walks to her office -a 10-minute walk away. As soon as she reaches her office, the first thing she does is check her mail.

No more are there anonymous complaints of corruption waiting for her.

Her decisions are relatively simpler. She mulls over which gewog or chiwog to visit. During such visits, she usually talks about waste management, organic farming, arts and crafts, which are the core objectives of the SJI. “The whole shift has been totally different.”

She says Thimphu was a suffocating place to live in physically and metaphorically. She hated the hypocrisy and artificial life of urban Thimphu. She constantly desired to return home and work at the community level.

She frequently is questioned by friends about the transition and if she has adjusted to her new life.

“Having lived in Thimphu holding a high position, the sudden change might have proved difficult for others, but this is non-issue for me,” Dasho Neten said. “When I attended GNH International Conference in Paro recently, I was trying to sell our SJI’s hand made craft products and all my friends found it funny that a former chairperson is now a sales woman.”

She left Thimphu in August and took a cab all the way to Dewathang. She joined the SJI by the end of September because she agreed with the initiative’s goals.

Today, besides working with the SJI, she also takes care of her mother’s house and her younger sister.

“I’m totally cut off from what’s happening in the country or world and I sleep a lot,” she says. “I have become lazy,” she laughs. “I was surprised when I realized I didn’t even know the three new eminent NC members were elected recently until my sister told me and now I’m thinking to look for my old radio to at least keep up with the news.”

She says she was overcome by a strange feeling when she left Dewathang to attend the GNH conference in Paro recently. “I felt very different as soon as I got into the car at 4am. I felt so uneasy and felt like I was going to a foreign world.”

Today her concerns are waste management, especially for the plastic kind. She hopes not to become obnoxiously obsessive about her new responsibility.

Working with nine of her colleagues in SJI, Dasho has already visited 27 villages and nine gewogs.

“I’ve never done this before even when I used to visit Dewathang every year. If I had remained in Thimphu, I don’t think this would have happened even if I wanted to create awareness about corruption.”

Having lived a “Prado life” in Thimphu, she quickly narrates the only difficulty now is walking to the village. She has weak knees.

“I’m not trying to be romantic with life, yes, it is tough but is living behind land fallow and village is not a solution. That’s why I always wanted to come back.” She is not sure if she’ll ever move back to Thimphu.

Initially, she worried about some of the corruption cases that were still pending after moving to Dewathang. But not anymore.

“But as a concerned citizen I am still worried about corruption as an issue. Because the environment is definitely fertile for corruption to grow from my experience or what even I have seen.”

As the clock strikes 5pm, instead of hurrying to go home, she makes sure she checks all the work on the desk. This is what defines her. Work always comes first.

Before returning home, Dasho smiles and does not give a definite answer if she is considering joining politics. Rumours have been doing the rounds that her move to Samdrupjongkhar is politically motivated.

She doubts she may ever join politics, but just in case she does, she says she will join the right group that has a conviction for people’s needs.

“I won’t mind even if I lose the election but I want to set certain standards and tell people politicians and politics can be good,” she says. “If wining is the motive, a politician may stoop to all sorts of strategies … You see, even if I win by fair means, I am sure people would still say, so joining SJI was a strategy to join politics and win votes.”

Yangchen C Rinzin

His Majesty the King’s National Day address on December 17 in Paro delved deep into the life of the nation and set the tone for its future successes. It was one of the most important Royal Addresses that defined the shape and soul of this forward-looking nation.

The making of the nation has not been an easy process for a country that had found peace and was very much comfortable with harmony it enjoyed in the sheltered cloister of self-imposed isolation.

But there was the urge to open up. And boldly we did. Today, 108 years since the unification of the country under the Wangchuck Dynasty, Bhutan has achieved tremendous heights of development. We must commend ourselves for the successes we have been able to achieve in a short period of time.

Our successive Kings, the government and the people worked hard with the common aim to build this nation of ours that is rising ever so confidently among the comity of nations. What peace and prosperity we enjoy today is thanks to the vision that our monarchs set for the country and the people.

His Majesty spelt this out most eloquently in His address to the nation on Thursday. When the countries around the world are going through serious natural and man-made crises, Bhutan has been fortunate to enjoy continued peace and prosperity.

But, most importantly, the success of the nation hinges on the success of education and strong and dynamic civil service, said His Majesty the King. That’s is why His Majesty conferred recognition award to the outstanding educators and civil servants who served the nation for more than 30 years.

The nation’s eternal goal remains to build a just and harmonious society. To achieve this, the country must build strong education system and an eminent pool of civil servants. The awards were instituted to encourage young professionals to work hard. Twenty-eight educators from the Ministry of Education, Royal University of Bhutan, and Royal Institute of Management, received the recognition award (gold) for their exemplary service to the nation in the field of education and excellence in leadership and management.

“This award is an expression of appreciation to our civil servants, and more importantly, it is a reminder to the civil servants that they must continue to shoulder their responsibilities impeccably,” said His Majesty the King.

Every national day, teachers and educators receive recognition award for their service. What this signifies is that the country gives special importance to the success of the country at the heart of which lies success in education.

As His Majesty said, we have now come to the stage of development that requires us to act for the benefit of the country and its people.  It is a matter now of whether we can muster the courage to do it, not of whether we can or not.

Crime: Following a tip-off, forest officers in Wangdue caught two men from Byelangdra, Kazhi gewog for smuggling musk-pods on December 16.

The men were trying to sell the musk pods in Bajo town, forest officers said.

Foresters said they were informed on December 15 and were tracking them as they travelled from Byelangdra to Bajo. They were nabbed the following day in Bajo town after the offenders’ vehicle was spotted.

“We have seized the musk-pods and fined them as per the rules and regulations,” a forester said.  The men were fined Nu 50,000 and their vehicle seized.

Director general for department of forest and park services, Chencho Norbu said as per the wildlife products and red-sandar wood report 2013-2014, the department has caught 28 musk deer cases.

He said the foresters seized around 20 musk pods in the last two years, and dismantled more than 1,477 traps set by the offenders. They have collected a fine of Nu 5.2M for musk deer related cases, according to the report.

“The maximum seizure cases, 10, was reported from Jigme Dorji National Park that covers Gasa and Wangdue regions followed by seven cases in Wangchuck Centenary Park,” he said.

Musk pod is one of the most expensive wildlife products, according to local elderlies. It is mostly used for medicinal purposes and sold illegally.

To help reduce smuggling and hunting of wild animals, especially musk deer, gewog officers conduct awareness program to explain the forestry rules and regulations and importance of wildlife conservation, Kazhi gup Sigyel Dorji said.

However, they point out that after cordycep collection was legalized, hunting and smuggling of musk deer products has decreased drastically.

Dawa Gyelmo

NCWC suggests equal nomination for women from the grassroots to participate in the electoral process 

Gender: A systematic education is what Bhutan needs right now to transform the mindset and foster greater acceptance of women’s equal social, economic and political status than reservation and quotas.

Major mindset changes should be brought about to acknowledge women’s equal political rights as being important.

Electoral processes such as the conduct of Functional Literacy Test for Local Government Elections will have to be made more accessible to women, by having the test centers in every gewog and not in dzongkhag headquarters, as was the case today.

This is the way forward in bridging the gap between demand and supply of women in politics, according to participants at the first electoral forum on ‘Women in Politics’ held in Thimphu yesterday.

Chief Election Commissioner, Chogyal Dago Rigzin said despite more women voters in Bhutan, women participants were least supported. This trend, he said is affecting democracy from moving forward.

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“Amending the Election Act would not improve women participation in politics but political parties could change their rules of procedures to give 30 percent candidature to women,” he said. “A small change in the political party’s polices would really increase women in politics,” he said.

Here, he said they were not only looking at women in politics but at women in electoral offices as well.

With Local Government election around the corner, these changes could be implemented sooner, he urged.

The last general election witnessed a drop in women representation to 6.9 percent from 13.9 percent in 2008. It wasn’t any different in 2011 local government elections. Of the more than 1,000 seats for various posts, 165 women contested but only less than half were elected, including a lone female gup.

In a study conducted by the Election Commission of Bhutan in 2014 to find the determinants of voter’s choice, and ways to facilitate women’s participation in elective offices, about 51 percent of the voters had said educating women was the best reform to enhance women participation in the electoral process.

However, participants at yesterday’s forum were skeptic if Bhutan was hurrying in bringing gender equality in politics when about 73 countries across the world have less than 15 percent of women participation even after working towards it for decades.

Responding to a similar query, a political advocacy expert from International IDEA, Rubidzai Kandawasvika Nhudu said Bhutan has opportunities aplenty when works in bringing gender equality in politics is at a formative stage.

A new development in the debate of ‘women in politics’ recently has been the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) submitting the draft National Plan of Action for promotion of gender equality in elected offices to the Cabinet for approval.

Executive Director of NCWC Kunzang Lhamu said one of the key recommendations is the need for such a policy, which will mainstream gender and not have reservation and quota.

“The policy identifies ways and means to create a demand for women’s participation at nomination level of at least 33 percent,” she said.

She added that another aspect of the policy ensures that an adequate number of women contest the elections by creating awareness, building capacities, monitoring and creating a level playing field.

“Quota is not reserving seats for women as most understands it but about having equal nomination for women from the grassroots,” Kunzang Lhamu said.

Nirmala Pokhrel

NC’s recommendation to lift the daily tariff has thrown up more questions than answers 

Tariff: The National Council’s proposed changes in the tourism industry have left the industry divided.

Tour operators are against any reform in the existing tariff or policy while the guides and hoteliers welcome it.

The Council’s economic affairs committee (EAC) recommended, among others, that the existing daily minimum tariff of USD 250 and 200 a day a tourist for the peak and lean seasons be lifted.

The EAC recommended the government to retain the royalty of USD 65 a day a tourist and lift the tariff to ensure all stakeholders maximize tourism opportunities and minimize revenue leakages.

EAC’s chairperson and Chukha’s councilor, Pema Tenzin said that the government reviews the Council’s recommendations for its practicality and provides a follow up report on its status.

The players

The tourism industry is governed by the “high value, low impact” policy. All tariff-paying tourists have to route through tour operators. They design the itinerary for tourists, chose hotels and assign a guide and transportation. Tourists who opt to stay in their preferred choice of hotels have to bear the surcharge. Of about 1,700 tour operators, only about 400 are operational. The top 10 tour operators bring in about 30 percent of the total international tourists.

There are about 133 hotels across the country with the highest located in Thimphu, Paro and Punakha. The occupancy rate is about 30 to 35 percent on an average for hotels in the western region, about 17 percent in central and seven percent in the eastern region.

There are about 2,500 licensed guides of which a majority are cultural guides. They are paid about Nu 500 to Nu 1,500 a day during peak season while in the lean season they get about Nu 500 to 1,000.

Today, small vehicles hired for tourists are paid Nu 18 to 21 a km while coaster busses categorized as medium vehicles get about Nu 30 to 35.

Issues 

The prominent issues confronting the industry today are hotel occupancy, equal spread of tourism benefits, seasonality and the alleged undercutting practices. The sector has been grappling with these issues for more than four decades.

Questions are also raised on how effective the Tourism Council of Bhutan’s (TCB) and tour operators marketing strategies are. Lack of innovation among tour operators is another issue. A majority of tour operators still sell the same tour packages and every year cultural tourists top the list of arrivals while less than 10 percent visit for adventure tour. Other products such as Buddhism, wellness and spa or biking, community based tourism and retreat are yet to pick up.

Unregulated regional tourist arrivals, which is increasing is seen as a threat to the country’s brand as a niche destination. Until a couple of years ago, regional tourists were not part of the tourism statistics but now the numbers are used as a yardstick for achieving targets.

Hoteliers’ and guides’ stand

Hoteliers and most guides laud the Council’s recommendation on doing away with the fixed tariff. The proposed change, they said would tackle the regional spread of tourism benefits and the seasonality issue. They said in the current system, tour operators decide where guests stay, what they do, eat or visit. The profit from tourism is not distributed within the industry, as tour operators want the lowest price for transportation, hotel, and guides.

Reasoning that hoteliers make the most investment in the industry and create the highest employment, they said its time tour operators promote Bhutan as a niche market instead of undercutting. They said the current system worked only in the past when there were fewer hotels, guides and tour operators.

Three-star hoteliers said they sell a room for about Nu 1,500 to 2,000 a night after offering 30 to 40 percent discount and removing all facilities in a bid to save costs.

“Although there is a huge scope, most hotels are unable to break even,” a hotelier and tour operator in Paro said.

In the current system, hoteliers and guides said that if they don’t have good relations with tour operators, they don’t get business. “Even if a tourist chooses your hotel, the tour operator would tell them that the rooms are booked and move them to another.”

Hoteliers said that the existing system has forced guides to depend on commission and take guests to the shops and hotels, depending on who provides them the highest commission besides demanding free food and lodge from hotels where tour operators keep their guests.

Guides Association of Bhutan’s (GAB) chairman Garab Dorji said the whole issue boils down to undercutting, which he said is rampant. “After offering a huge discount to overseas agents, the discount is pushed onto hotels and guides,” he said. “Hotels and guides don’t have a choice but to accept it as its better to have some guests than none.”

“The proposed changes will level the field for all where everyone gets equal chance,” Garab Dorji said.

It is alleged that most tour operators especially the bigger players sell tour packages for USD 130 to 170 a day.

Hotels and Restaurants Association of Bhutan’s (HRAB) president Thinley Palden Dorji said there is no denying that there is a problem.

“There is an issue with the way the industry is structured,” he said, calling for reform for the long-term health of the industry. “What makes the situation worse is that many hotels don’t receive their payment on time.”

Tour Operators’ take

Tour operators contend that not all undercut. They insist that any reform in the policy would affect the industry and Bhutan as a destination. Their argument is mainly based on “why fix something that is not broken” and that any change would mean, “killing the golden goose.”

Tour operators argue that if changes come through, it would mean undercutting is legalized. The increase in tourists, they said would promote mass tourism considering the tourist population ratio.

“The carrying capacity in terms of services and infrastructure need to be studied well,” a tour operator said, adding that any reform would add pressure on the limited resources.

Some tour operators attributed undercutting to management lapses, which they said would worsen if the existing tariff were removed.

“It’s not true that tour operators dictate the market. Not anymore,” one said. “It used to function that way in the 90s where information was solely dependent on tour operators but today hoteliers market themselves while clients seek information online prior to their visits.”

They said that although the price or tariff is just one component of the overall aspect of tourism, it was different for Bhutan as the tariff is the only factor that has maintained the country’s policy of high value, low impact for the past 41 years.

“Instead of meddling with the tariff that has worked so well, its time we come up with a proper plan and system in place,” Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators’ (ABTO) executive director Sonam Dorje said.

Citing that there are bigger issues that need to be tackled, Sonam Dorje said that tour operators are not adverse to change but first quality, standardization and professionalism in the industry should be addressed.

“Lets put our house in order first and have the system in place and then talk about the price,” Sonam Dorje said.

Some tour operators also said there are no basic infrastructure in place currently to maximize from the increase in arrivals if the tariff was removed. They also questioned how the reform would guarantee regional spread of tourism benefits and address the seasonality and occupancy issue for hotels.

The change in tariff, a tour operator said would be the beginning of an end. “It’s not right to malign tour operators when there is nothing wrong with the policy,” he said. “Brand Bhutan wasn’t created overnight, it was a deliberate approach to economic development. The brand is immeasurable.”

Referring to the occupancy issue and bad debts of hotels, another tour operator said that it was not the government’s job to bail out failed businesses. “The realty is that if the tariff system is removed, another 100 hotels will come up again and the same issues will exist.”

Council’s stand

EAC chairperson Pema Tenzin said the Council was looking at maximizing the policy by removing the fixed tariff.

On the accusation from tour operators that they were not consulted, Pema Tenzin said the committee has done enough consultation even before the 15th session.

He said all members sought views on the issue during their constituency visits besides consulting TCB, ABTO, HRAB and GAB, among others. “There were guides, foreigners, and people from non-tourism sectors who wrote to us,” he said.

The Council’s stand, he said is to stop mass tourism and encourage high-end tourists and address the existing issues in the industry.

“The royalty will serve as the pricing mechanism to avoid budget tourists,” he said, while emphasizing the need to manage regional tourists stating that Bhutan cannot have two standards for tourists.  “Let the market decide,” he said.

Pema Tenzin also said that TCB, as the apex body, instead of stamping visas and calculating the daily tariff, have a bigger mandate.

On the possibility of tax evasion and revenue leakages given the poor monitoring system in place currently, Pema Tenzin said the government must ensure an aggressive taxation system.

Meanwhile, Drukair’s CEO Tandi Wangchuk said that although it’s difficult to take a stand at the moment, an increase in passengers would mean additional business for the airlines.

“As a carrier, we will be happy with any policy that ensures increase in tourist arrivals and throughout the year,” he said.

TCB officials did not want to comment.

Kinga Dema

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO: One of the most important national events in Bhutan is Gyalyong Duechen (རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་དུས་ཆེན་) or the National Day. It is the commemoration of the installation of Sir Ugyen Wangchuck as the first hereditary monarch of Bhutan on 17 December, 1907 in the congregation hall of Punakha dzong. The hall was decorated with wall hangings, banners and silk brocades and three thrones were installed for King Ugyen Wangchuck, the 50th Je Khenpo Jampal Shenyen and the British representative John Claude White. They were flanked by rows of clergy and state officials, and the sacred space filled with officers and spectators. In course of a traditional zhugdrel ceremony, the guests presented their gifts to King Ugyen Wangchuck. The pinnacle of the ceremony was the endorsement of the document containing the contract for the new monarchial system. The state clerk read out aloud the oath of allegiance to the new King written on a scroll. Then, the Je Khenpo placed the large seal of the Zhabdrung’s Ngachudrukma at the top of the document in vermillion. The others followed suit to put their seals on the document in black ink. The document bore altogether 50 different seals.

To the feet of the precious and high judge of the dual system,

It is submitted that in our country, Bhutan, in former times whoever came forth from among lamas and masters of the monastery, councillors and regional governors served as the great Desi. Apart from this, there was no hereditary monarch. Now, therefore, the abbot, monastic masters, the congregation, state council, regional governors and all officials and subjects unanimously and sincerely endorse firmly and conclusively the unalterable oath, the purport of which is, Bhutan’s overlord, the Tongsa pönlop Sir Ugyen Wangchuck is enthroned as the hereditary monarch, through common agreement and as evident to all gods and men, in the Palace of Great Bliss of Punakha on 17 December 1907, 13th day of the 11th month of our own year of Earth Monkey, coinciding with an auspicious astrological conjunction. In pursuant to this, we, the above mentioned, lamas and officials, subjects and followers, all great and small, place our integrity as witness in order to offer service and support to the king who has been enthroned on the golden throne and to the succession of his royal heirs. Apart from this, if there are issues arising due to new talk from evil intention and duplicitous accusations, then such a person will expelled from the common fold. In acceptance of the unalterable [conditions] above, the common seal of the abbot, masters and congregation, … the seal of the three regions of Darkar.

The National Day we observe annually now is a celebration of this auspicious and momentous beginning of a new chapter in Bhutan’s history. According to the information in the Kuensel archives, the National Day was celebrated for the first time on 17 December 1971, sixty-four years after King Ugyen Wangchuck was crowned. Since then, the celebrations continued to become more elaborate and festive and the day was attributed with great national significance. Today, as we celebrate 108 years since King Ugyen Wangchuck was crowned, the day has become a sacred and joyful occasion for the Bhutanese people to come together to celebrate the blessings and achievements of the past and to reinforce their commitment to carry on the legacies of the forefathers and work even harder towards the common goals.

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HEALTH AND FITNESS: Hi Tshering,

Could you please share some on bulking and cutting tips? How long will cutting process take? How should I remove water weight from my body for optimum muscle definition? What kind of diet should I maintain while bulking and cutting? 

Namgyel Rangdol, Thimphu. 

Dear Namgyel,

Bulking, also know as mass phase can be done best when you are in a calorie surplus diet, meaning at a time when you are eating more than you are burning as extra calories are absolutely necessary to create an anabolic ambience. The number of extra calories required varies from one person to another.

The length of this phase is also varies from person to person. If you are not getting ready for a show or a photo shoot, than I recommend going into cutting phase when your mass phase progress stalls.

Cutting, also know as leaning and pre-contest phase, is a periodization for reducing percentage of body fat, while holding onto the new muscle built during your last mass or offseason phase.

It is absolutely critical to be in a calorie deficit diet, meaning you should be consuming a little less than what you are burning. This deficit creates an ambience apt for burning your stored body fat as energy. This process helps to shed fat and reveal your hard earned muscle gradually.

How long should you go on with cutting phase depends on how low you want to bring your fat percentage.

I advice you to take a break from cutting phase for a few days when results stall and resume again. Experienced and informed third eye is absolutely necessary to ensure you are not burning away muscle while on this phase.

Manipulating water

Water is manipulated a few days prior to a contest or shoot to create a dry and hard look by maximizing intramuscular water and minimizing subcutaneous water (water underneath the skin).

The safest and the simplest way to do this is by drastically increasing your water intake a week before shoot and stopping water completely 24 hours before shoot or contest.

Remember that water manipulation is a very tiny fraction of the full picture. If you are in great shape a week out, you don’t want to change too many variables risking ruining your months of labour.

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MAIN STORY: Winter is getting severe by the day. Soaring firewood price is also leading to kerosene shortage.

But there are options galore to heat homes. There are electric blankets and heaters. The thing is: electric bills at the end of this month come in scary numbers.

Living in one of the condensed neighbourhoods in Changzamtog is Sangay Tshering, 35. It is so cold that an electric heater doesn’t heat up his house. Frustrated, Sangay Tshering tried every possible ways from buying the expensive electric heaters to smoky kerosene heaters to keep his family warm and cozy in the cold season.

At the end of the month, however, Sangay Tshering must face the electricity bill. Winter is difficult for many people like Sangay. So the Bhutan Power Corporation has listed some basic tips about how to reduce electricity bills every month.

It all boils down to making home energy-efficient. Apart from such basic tips, there are plenty of other ways to retain heat inside and use electricity in an efficient way. There are energy-efficient heating appliances.

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If you hear an eerie whistle and a rush of cool air blowing in through the gaps in windows or doors, your first intuition would be to block the openings or else the heat escapes through these openings.

There are plenty of options available in hardware stores to insulate the drafty windows and doors such as window insulation films, rubber sealing, layered curtains or hand-made fabric tubes that are placed on window sill and under a door to prevent cold air from creeping in.

There are other parts of the houses such as floors and ceilings, through which heat is lost as well.

Architect with Thimphu Thromde, Jigme Loday, offers essential tips to keep our home warm using electric heaters as less as possible.

Jigme Loday recommends installing storm windows or making sure that the windows at home are airtight by stuffing it with towel or any piece of cloth in between leaks. One can also use cheap shower curtains or clear plastic sheets over the windows that receive sunlight to keep the cold air out and retain the warm heat inside the house.

Also, one can ensure that sun hits the house as long as possible. One can do this by clearing obstructions such as plants or sheds that might keep the sun’s rays from reaching the house. One can also remove items leaning against the walls on a sunny side of the house and put them back again at night for additional insulation.

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“You can also close off any unused rooms to stop air from circulating, which reduces heat loss. You can put down rugs and carpets to prevent heat loss through the cemented floor,” Jigme Loday said.

A lot of heat escapes through the attic, as warm air rises and cold air shrinks. Make sure that the attic has enough insulation.

“You can also do 20 minutes of vigorous exercise that can warm you up and keep you warm well after the exercise session. Plus, a healthy body is generally more tolerant to cold,” he said.

Architects blame the lack of willingness to spend on energy-efficient buildings.

There are several problems associated with traditional and modern concrete houses in the country. There is no thermal massing and insulation during the course of construction. Especially, air escapes from the roofs, walls and floors designed by Bhutanese. Openings like windows are not constructed with double glazed glasses to retain heat.

Traditional Bhutanese homes use good insulation materials, but there are just too many gaps through which air flows. The modern concrete houses lose heat as fast as it absorbs, Jigme Loday said.

“One can also try putting a layer of Styrofoam under the carpet to insulate the floor,” he said. “Boxing the geysers and filling the gap with rock wool or insulators also prevent heat loss.”

A government employee, Pema Dorji, who lives in one of the traditional houses in Olakha, too has some tips on to retain heat in homes.

Pema Dorji uses a simple mixture of sawdust and adhesive like fevicol to fill up the gaps between wooden floorings. Sawdust is a good insulator. Since traditional houses also have single windowpanes, he uses double glaze windows in all the windows.

“Adding another glass to the window creates a gap and traps air between the two glass panes and helps retain heat. Same can also be done in the modern homes as well,” Pema Dorji said.

Pema Dorji also uses energy-efficient heating gadgets such a radiators and heaters with thermostats. He replaces old bulbs with fluorescent bulbs and uses sawdust briquettes instead of firewood.

“One will surely find a difference when the electricity bill arrives every month,” Pema Dorji said. “It is really good to have warmer homes and pay less for energy.”

By Thinley Zangmo  

Hydropower: Should the initial deal on Kuri-I project succeed, it is likely that Bangladesh would be investing in Bhutan’s hydropower sector.

The most recent development in pursuing the 1125MW Kuri-I project is that the project might be considered for development through a trilateral co-operation between Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.

The project was initially envisaged as the Rotpashong project given its vicinity to the famous Rotpashong landslide between Mongar and Lhuentse. But as a number of projects would possibly be developed on the Kurichhu, Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) decided to name the project as Kuri-1 while conducting the investigations and studies for the detailed project report (DPR). His Holiness the Je Khenpo recently renamed the place as Dorjilung.

DGPC’s managing director, Dasho Chhewang Rinzin said Bangladesh has always been keen to get access to Bhutan’s hydropower and if a trilateral arrangement can be worked out, Bangladesh could be not only getting energy from Bhutan but also investing in Bhutan’s hydropower.  “But these are just initial thoughts and much needs to be done”

As of now there isn’t any funding modality worked out, and the managing director said it will all depends on how the project is structured.

However, the DPR investigations and studies have been completed to the level required. DGPC is in its last stages of finalizing the report and the DPR is expected to get approved within 2016.

The dam will be located about seven km downstream of Autsho at a place called Rewan. It will be about 135 m high from the deepest foundation. A headrace tunnel of 11 m diameter will carry the water to the powerhouse at the confluence of the Kurichhu and Shongarchhu.

With an estimated cost of about Nu 64B, excluding the Nu 6B cost of the transmission lines to the India-Bhutan border, the project is expected to generate about 4,500 million units annually. The cost is however expected to increase because of financing charges, price variations and other contingencies.

Dasho Chhewang Rinzin said the DPR does not include the likely earnings from carbon credit. “Maybe now with the positive outcome at the recent Paris Climate Summit, we could possibly see the carbon credit market emerging once again”

DGPC started the preparation of the DPR for the Kuri-1 project in the latter half of 2013. The Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) report that had recommended for an installed capacity of 1,230 MW. After reviewing the PFS and undertaking the detailed project power potential studies over the last two years, an installed capacity of 1,125 MW was recommended.

Meanwhile, the creation of the infrastructure such as roads and bridges would take at least one to two years and the project would thereafter take another five to six years to construct.

“The preparation of the DPR for Kuri-1 project gave an excellent opportunity to Druk Green to build its capacity for undertaking DPRs,” Dasho Chhewang Rinzin said adding DGPC undertook most of the field investigations and gathering of first hand data.

Considering the recent concerns with the quality of the DPRs, he said it would be beneficial for the long-term sustenance of the hydropower sector to allow DGPC to play an active and major role.

Tshering Dorji

Football: Bank of Bhutan FC (BoB) was declared the winners of the on-going DHI-owned Companies Cup 2015 on Saturday.

BoB’s final game against Bhutan Power Corporation FC (BPC) concluded with a 2-2 draw. However, with seven wins and one draw from eight games, BoB topped the table with 22 points to claim the title.

In a tightly contested game, BPC scored two goals from the spot. BPC took the lead in the first minute of the game when BoB’s goalkeeper, Jigme Singye, brought down BPC’s striker inside the box.

However, their lead was short lived. BoB struck back in the 15th minute to equalize. BoB then took the lead before the halftime. The neck-to-neck game concluded with BPC scoring in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The coordinator of the tournament, Passang Norbu of BoB, said that the tournament was a success and the motive of teambuilding amongst the DHI owned companies from the competition was achieved.

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“Now we know each other better and this makes our work easier,” he said.

Participants said that trust is a critical component to business, especially when teamwork is required on a daily basis to achieve objectives and grow companies.

With one game in hand, BPC and Drukair FC will compete for the second and third place in the tournament this weekend.

DHI Chairman, Dasho Sangay Khandu, awarded the winners of the tournament with a rolling trophy and a takeaway trophy along with a cash price of Nu 60,000.

Of the 14 companies under DHI, nine teams took part in the tournament. BoB coordinated the competition in partnership with Bhutan Football Federation on October 17.

The tournament will conclude by the end of this month.

Younten Tshedup 

Accident: A 34-year old man and his 14-year old daughter died on impact when the Santro car they were travelling in veered off and fell 352 feet below the road, near Kamichu on the Wangdue-Tsirang highway, yesterday.

According to police  source, a 16-year old son was referred to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital from Bajo hospital, yesterday evening.

Police said an administration officer working with the Punatsangchu hydropower project informed them about seeing a car sinking in the river while working near Dekchu around noon.

Police said the three were travelling towards Dagana.

“We managed to take out the car and rescue all three from the river to Bajo hospital,” a police source said. However, daughter and father died few minutes after reaching the hospital.

Police said since all three were severely injured, they could not identify them. They later learnt their address from the father’s driving license.

“We managed to contact the dzongkhag and found that only three of them were in the car,” police said.

Dawa Gyelmo, Wangdue

Literary: A romantic novel, Chronicle of a Love Foretold, by Monu Tamang became the first Bhutanese “crowd funded” book to be launched by the Writers Association of Bhutan (WAB) on Saturday.

Rather than find a company to accept the manuscript or attempting to raise the money from a single source, the writers association helped Monu Tamang to publish his novel by adopting a funding model that has been gaining popularity in Bhutan in recent years .

The association crowd funded or sought as many donations from as many people who felt Monu Tamang’s novel should be published.

Eventually, over 30 people invested in the novel as “partners” who would also be responsible for marketing and selling the book.

A total of Nu 150,000 was committed although not all of it has been collected yet said Passang Tshering, a co-founder of WAB. After the partners reacquire their investment and returns through sales, a portion of the profit is passed onto the author for his story and intellectual property. It was also pointed out that the author would receive the most profit among all the partners.

He said that the association has many young writers who do not have the financial means to publish their works. With the association also not having any funds, its other co-founder Nawang P Phuntsho recommended that crowd sourcing the required investment be attempted.

The result was Monu Tamang, 24, a physiotherapy student in India, being able to publish his first novel and second book. His first book The Joy of Beautiful Dreams was published in 2011.

His novel was launched in a simple and touching ceremony attended by the President of the Royal Thimphu College, Thakur S Powdyel.

The author recalled how his mother, a farming housewife, ensured she built a large fire in their wood stove every night so that he could read, write, and learn in its flickering light when he was in school. His novel is dedicated to his parents.

The novel, while a romance, also addresses some social issues, for one, respecting parents. Monu Tamang said no one should feel ashamed of their parents no matter what background they come from. The book’s launch was almost cancelled because the author could not afford to bring his mother from Tsirang for the event, he said.

With the help of the association, Monu Tamang’s mother was able to attend her son’s book launch.

But the author’s inspiration to write the novel came from his ex-girlfriend, he admitted rather sheepishly. It began as a diary he wrote for her every day so she could read at night. Eventually, it turned into a novel but the couple broke up before it was published.

Thakur S Powdyel praised the author for adding to the country’s literary bank, and the association for its funding model.

“Many people want to write books, they want to be authors but they hesitate because they feel the book may not be good enough” Thakur S Powdyel said. He added that he tells his students to pursue what they’re good at, be it dance or writing, because every single local production counts in building the country’s culture.

With publishing the book now completed, the association will now see how the marketing aspect plays out.

“We’ll polish this a little bit and try this with a few more books,” Passang Tshering said referring to the crowd funding model.

The works of potential candidates will be screened by the association’s members and readers.

Gyalsten K Dorji

Tourists arrivals are expected to further decline as a result of the road widening works

Tourism: Despite the government’s decision to re-schedule road widening works at night for the convenience of travellers, tourist arrivals in Bumthang fell to a record low of 15,482 in 2015 according to the Hotel Association of Bumthang (HAB).

This year the number of tourist arrivals dropped by 8,618 from last year’s 24,100. Only 15,482 visited Bumthang this year, the lowest since 2011, when 21,000 tourist vistors were recorded.

“The number of tourist arrivals decreased and many hotels remained unoccupied even during the peak season from September-November,” HAB chairman, Pema Dawa said.

It is currently the peak season in Bumthang because of a string of tshechus in Jambay Lhakhang, Tamzhing and Jakar.

The Jambay Lhakhang drub attracts the highest number of tourists because it is one of the oldest tshechus in the dzongkhag and offers a unique mask dance, the tercham (naked dance).

“Every hotel remained occupied during Jambay Lhakhang drub even during the lowest of arrivals in the past but this year many hotels had no guests,” Pema Dawa said.

With the Tourism Council of Bhutan reporting a decrease in tourists in the country during the fall peak season, arrivals in Bumthang deceased by 2,720 guests from 2014. During the fall season, 10,440 tourists visited the country in 2014 compared to only 8,520 in 2015.

This year’s arrivals in November numbered only 2,120 against 6,120 in 2014. Phuntsho hotel, which was fully booked for five days last year during the Jambay Lhakhang drub had guests only for three days this year.

“The number of arrivals was lesser compared to last year during the drub,” Phuntsho hotel proprietor, Dorji Wangmo said.

While overall drop in the country also affected arrivals, the hoteliers attributed the drastic decline of 43 percent to the bad road conditions as a result of road widening works and an erratic Drukair flight schedule.

Hotel home proprietor, Pema Khandu said the number of guests cancelled reservations during the months of October and November. The hotel lost three groups of tourists consisting of 45 people costing the hotel between Nu 0.6-0.7M.

“Often the travel agents had to cancel trips to Bumthang with the car owners refusing to come here because of bad road conditions,” Pema Khandu said, adding the travel agents also balk at selling the east of the country as a destination because of having to pay exorbitant fares for hiring vehicles.

Hoteliers also blame unreliable flights affecting tourist arrivals. They said most travel agents plan their trips only until Phobjikha or Wangduephodrang.

Arrivals in the other peak season between March-April, which usually consists of cultural tour, bird watching, botanical and ecological and biking, also saw a decrease compared to previous years.

For instance, in 2014 around 6,600 visited Bumthang against 4,851 between April and March this year. In April only 1,491 tourists arrived in the dzongkhag compared to 3,100 in 2014, which the hoteliers attributed to the earthquake in Nepal.

“The earthquake in Nepal affected the tourist arrivals here because most of the guests enter Bhutan through Nepal,” Pema Dawa said.

This year the number of arrivals between May-August also fell drastically. There were only 1,981 vistors against 6,030 in 2014. Farmhouses in Tang, Jakar, Chokhotoe, Jambay Lhakhang and Tamzhing were also affected.

As a result some hotels are already struggling to stay afloat in the business with some unable to repay loans and even employees.

Hoteliers fear business would further deteriorate in 2016 until the road widening works are completed. “I am worried in 2016 arrivals might decrease further because the poor road conditions have been troublesome and weary for guests and agents,” Pema Khandu said.

Tempa Wangdi, Bumthang

Discussions surrounding women’s participation in politics is back again. Fortunately this time around, the discourse is not about reserving seats for them or providing quotas. The focus is on systematic education to change the mind-set.

There is no doubt that women’s representation in the Parliament has to be improved. The logic is simple. Women understand women issues better and they will represent the women folk when policies and decisions are made in the highest law making body. This applies to governance at the local level too.

Reserving seats for women was not the best option. It was contested by women themselves at several forums. They felt that it was more discriminating than women not winning seats. The election Act doesn’t discriminate or is biased against women. We may have a very few women in the Parliament, but that doesn’t mean women are incompetent to be leaders.

The shift in focus is good. Generally, women in Bhutan have a tendency to step back. There is a feeling that as the weaker sex, they should allow their husband or the men to stand forward even if it is representing the village. This is so common in our rural areas. We do not discriminate women. They are given equal political rights, but this understanding had not helped our women come forward and take the lead.

What we need is education and strategies to encourage women to participate as candidates both at the local and government levels. While we respect the choice of the women to not represent or contest, there could be reasons besides the days required to campaign, sometimes walking for days in villages, or the family discouraging them from leaving their secure jobs.

Political parties could, on their own choose to reserve some seats for women. This could appeal to the voters, but the choice should be left to the women. We don’t want a situation where a woman candidate is embarrassed because she is contesting through a quota and her opponent by choice.

They could incorporate gender issues in political agenda that could attract the attention of potential woman candidates. They would want to participate in political processes that would affect them, their families and their societies.

The election commission’s study reveals that educating women was the best form to enhance women participation. How we do that needs priority if we are concerned about women’s representation in politics or at local governance. In the last two elections we had more women voters than men. It is surprising why women were not supporting women.

There is severe lack of understanding or mistrust. If education, mentoring and awareness could change this we have to invest in educating women. There are instances where skill building and leadership training has improved women participation.

Agriculture: As harvest season sets in, Tshering Dorji from Khaptoe village spends sleepless nights guarding his paddy and maize fields. Farmers lose at least a fraction of their harvests to wild animals every year.

Despite trying several means to ward off wild animals, destruction of crops has been increasing in Khaptoe, villagers say.

“This year, I lost about 30 percent of my paddy and maize. The damage is only increasing and guarding the fields alone is not enough,” Tshering Dorji said. “Animals have started coming very near to the houses.”

With damage increasing by the year, fallowing of land has also augmented in the past two decades according to the villagers.

Phuntsho, 73, reminisces of a time when villagers would cultivate their land at Sephuzor and Manang. Today, jungles have grown in these areas and only few prefer to grow maize there.

“Wild animals caused too much damage and villagers were forced to leave their lands fallow,” Phuntsho said. “If this remains the case, fallowing of land is bound to further increase.”

Although it was only wild boars that usually ravaged the crops, villagers said that since 2013, monkeys have also started attacking their fields. A villager, Tshering Zangmo said she bought a dummy tiger to scare the monkeys last year.

“The dummy tiger worked for few weeks but then the monkeys were clever enough to realize it was not real. The idea failed,” she said. “The only solution we foresee would be installing electric fencing in the village.”

Although the agriculture department had planned an electric fencing along the paddy fields at Phoshing few years ago, the plan didn’t materialize. Fencing equipment was transported at the site and villagers contributed labor as well.

“However, there were some missing item and the works remained stalled for days,” Tshering Zangmo said. “The existing items were also stolen and since then, the works never took off.”

Samkhar gup, Sonam Dorji said that although human wildlife conflict is a problem in Khaptoe, it has not aggravated as much as in other prone areas in the gewog.

“I don’t think electric fencing can be of much support because it has not helped much at Yenangbrangsa where the fencing was installed,” he said. “The solution could be in addressing the gungtong issue that would improve human population and reduce the jungles.”

Tshering Wangdi, Trashigang

Gup accused him of taking the central school from Doongna to Kamji

Contention: Following accusation from the Doongna gup of influencing decision, the Phuentsholing MP Rinzin Dorji has justified the government’s plan to upgrade the Kamji Middle Secondary School into a central school.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay, during a visit to Geling gewog last week, announced that Kamji would be upgraded to a central school.

The Dzongkhag Tshogdu (DT) had initially decided that the central school would be located in Doongna gewog. But the government earlier this year issued a notification stating that the central school would be established in Kamji, 25 kilometres from Phuentsholing, not in Doongna.

MP Rinzin Dorji justified that Kamji is an ideal location for establishment of a central location as the central school can be established at the lowest cost. He said the central school is about 25 kilometres from Phuentsholing and has provision to expand with the community already approving 30 acres of land. The school already has 20 acres.

MP Rinzin Dorji, who is from Geling gewog, where Kamji falls, said that having the central school in Kamji saves cost for the government as it already has infrastructures such as roads. He added that if the central school was to be established in Doongna it would cost the government about Nu 400 millions.

“Only 12 of the 49 kilometer road is good and children would go hungry during summer because the road is so bad,” he said. “No one would be interested to send their children to the school.”

Doongna Gup Lam Dorji said that Doongna was identified as the location for the central school in 2014 and that budget was also allocated. He said that 14 acres of land was also allocated for the school as identified by the Dzongkhag Tshogdu.

Lam Dorji said that the gewog office in October this year received a letter from the education ministry stating that the central school will be located to Kamji.  The gup maintains that the people in the gewog feel decision was influenced. “ The decision to shift the location of the central school came as a surprise as that the new location was declared without the decision of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu,” he said.

Education Officer Kinley Gyeltshen, said that the Dzongkhag Education Office had nothing to do with the decision to change the location of the central school.  He said that although the central school was initially planned in Doongna it was later notified that the school would be established Kamji.  “We just implement the activities as instructed by the ministry,” he said.

Refuting the allegations, MP Rinzin Dorji said it was not his decision to establish the central school in Kamji.  “I am a legislator, not decision-maker. Why should I influence the decision,” he said. “In fact, I want central schools in both the places. The central school came to Kamji because it has all the necessary infrastructure in place.”

The school in Kamji, he said would benefit the three gewogs of Lokchina, Sampheling and Geling and people wanted Kamji to be upgraded. He also said that Doonga is not neglected and the plan to upgrade the school in the gewog to a central school in not shelved. “

Rinzin Dorji said that it is good for the dzongkhag to have a central school in Kamji because the school can be upgraded into a college in future.

MB Subba

Options are to lease land or leave CHP premises

Town: Thirty-five shopkeepers operating near the Chukha Hydropower Plant (CHP) fear they might have to close business soon.

They are unhappy with CHP for registering the land initially leased to them and for asking them to pay for the lease.

Chukha Hydropower Plant recently notified the shopkeepers to pay rent beginning next year.

The shopkeepers claim the land had been leased to them by the dzongkhag administration and they had even paid taxes until 2007. The market existed since the 70s.

“We didn’t pay after the then dzongdag asked us not to,” thuemi Namgay said. “We thought it was exemption from the government like doing away with the customary labour.”

He said the CHP had surveyed the land in 2011 without their knowledge. “We’d no inkling about it and when we realised everything was over,” Namgay said.

The town occupies more than 1.17 acre of the land that now belongs to the plant and is in the centre of the premises.

The shopkeepers also approached Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on the issue during his recent visit to the gewog.

Bjabcho gup Gyeltshen said the CHP officials earlier offered the shopkeepers either to lease the land on yearly, half yearly periods or to move outside their premises.

“The problem is there is no space anywhere near it for the town to move,” the gup said. The shopkeepers fear leasing the land could strip them off their earnings, he said.

The shopkeepers proposed shifting to an area near the plant’s workshop but plant officials said they wanted to build office.

“We have been here for decades and our livelihood depend on the shops, if we leave here we’ll have nothing,” Namgay said.

The shopkeepers wish to remain within the premises  but have little hope.

The issue was raised with the previous government, and the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and both agreed to intervene. The dzongkhag administration has also submitted a report on the issue to His Majesty’s secretariat.

Tshering Palden

The daily tariff alone is not enough to sell Bhutan as a niche destination 

Tourism: The ongoing debate on the proposed changes in the tourism industry has, among others, sparked a debate on whether Bhutan really is a high-end destination.

Although governed by “high value, low impact” policy, the reality according to tourism stakeholders is that it’s only on paper. They attribute this to undercutting, unregulated regional tourists, the existing marketing strategies and lack of facilities.

The minimum daily tariff of USD 250 and 200 a day a tourist is the maximum ceiling but most tour operators sell for less. The industry also lacks innovation and creativity with a majority of the tour operators bringing in cultural tourists every year.

Hospitality

Hoteliers said the hospitality industry is almost “sick” owing to bad debts and that services are deteriorating despite the increasing competition.

A manager with a tourist standard hotel in Thimphu said that to recover her staffs’ salary, she doesn’t have a choice but to remove certain facilities and offer a huge discount. “But at times, it doesn’t make sense to bring down the price when we cannot even break even,” she said.

A three-star hotel owner in Paro said the room to staff ratio should be 1:2 but most hotels are unable to employ more. “If tour operators are willing to pay, we can offer better services and employ more staff,” he said.

In the present tariff system, tour operators keep a budget of about USD 30 a tourist for three meals, tea and snacks. Small vehicles hired for tourists are paid Nu 18 to 21 a km while coaster busses categorized as medium vehicles get about Nu 30 to 35. Guides are paid Nu 500 to Nu 1,500 a day during peak season while in the lean season they get about Nu 500 to 1,000.

It is alleged that tour operators sell tour packages for as low as USD 130 to 160 a day a tourist to agents abroad. This, hoteliers said affects the overall industry and service delivery.

Although the annual tourism report’s exit survey rates the hotel services high, hoteliers said they have no choice but to offer 30 to 40 percent discount throughout the year.  For instance, today a three-star hotel sells for Nu 1,800 to 2,000 while a four-star sells for about 3,000 for a twin room.

Hoteliers contend that tour packages or hotels and guides in places like Darjeeling and Sikkim, considered budget destination, sell at a higher rate than Bhutan.

Hoteliers said that a high-end destination like Bhutan where tourists pay USD 250 and 200, hotels and guides come cheap. In the neighbouring countries, guides are paid on an hourly basis.

Food complaints are high every year among tourists. While tour operators blame hotels for monotonous menu, hoteliers justify that the menu depends on the amount tour operators’ pay.

Some hoteliers also said that tour operators take tourists to restaurants in town that no locals know about and not quality restaurants. The trend is also that guides decide where a tourist should eat or visit (handicrafts) based on the commission they get.

A majority of the tourist sites in the country don’t require any fee.

Unregulated regional tourists 

Bhutan recorded 99,709 tourists as of August 31 this year of which 32,877 were international visitors and 66,832 regional visitors. While this is an overall increase of 30.83 percent, in terms of international tourists, this season saw a drop of 14.62 percent.

Regional tourists recorded an increase of 77.25 percent compared to the same period last year.

Visitors from India, Bangladesh and the Maldives are referred as regional tourists. Unlike international tourists, regional tourists are exempt from paying the minimum daily tariff. They also do not require visas to enter the country.

Until a couple of years ago, regional tourists were not part of the tourism statistics but now that their numbers are used as a yardstick for achieving targets, tourism stakeholders call for a policy to effectively manage and optimize tourism benefits. The surge in the regional tourists is already seen as an impact on the dollar-paying tourists.

Marketing 

Even Tourism Council of Bhutan’s (TCB) marketing strategies and effectiveness needs a re-look as clearly indicated in the annual tourism reports. Until 2011, the tourism exit survey cited “word-of-mouth” as the most important source of information for tourists to visit Bhutan.

The information was removed from the report since 2012. TCB has about six public relation (PR) agents in six countries. Sources said that every  PR agents are paid about USD 1,500 a month.

About 400 of the 1,700 registered tour operators are operational. The top 10 handle about 30 percent of the tourist arrivals. Every year, about 80 percent of the tariff-paying tourists are cultural tourists while about 10 percent visit Bhutan for trekking, rafting and others.

The 2011 tourism monitor states that when a tour operator charges less than the prescribed minimum daily tariff to attract budget-conscious visitors to Bhutan, it leads to unsatisfied visitors that has direct bearing on the most important marketing tool for Bhutan – the ‘word-of-mouth’.

“There are prevailing speculations that tour operators who undercut provide sub-standard services and facilities to their clients and as a result tarnish the image of Bhutan as a high-end destination,” it stated.

A high occurrence of undercutting was prevalent as indicated in the exit survey of the 2011 tourism report where about 19 percent of respondents paid less than the prescribed daily tariff.

“This finding necessitates a proper monitoring mechanism in order to dissuade tour operators from undercutting,” stated the monitor.

National Council member Pema Tenzin said the country’s experience is sold at a lesser rate than the room rates of hotels such as Taj Tashi, Uma and Aman. “And a Bhutanese spends more in Bangkok than a tourist spends in Bhutan,” he said.

“The fixed tariff caused wrong marketing and awareness with the misunderstanding of all inclusive nature of tariff,” the council’s committee report stated. “More so the profit is harvested by overseas middle agents at the cost of Bhutanese tour operators.”

Lack of specialized guides, proper infrastructure for tourist, investment and high-end quality services are prominent issues affecting the industry today. The industry is also in dire need of a vision and strategy for the way forward. Coordination among stakeholders, professionalism, lack of sustainable marketing strategies and a tourism master plan are also issues confronting the industry today.

Recommendations

Besides lifting the daily tariff, the Council’s economic affairs committee also recommended the government for an urgent need of a comprehensive tourism policy, regional spread of tourism benefits and regulation of regional tourism.

The Council recommended creation of gainful employment and fair reporting of tourism earning sector. The tourism review report questions the role of tourism taxation and its impact on the competitiveness and attractiveness of the destination.

Kinga Dema

Energy: The completion of construction of over 2,000 biogas plants in the country was celebrated in Gelephu yesterday. Masons, gewog agriculture extension officers and dzongkhag officials received certificates, biogas stoves and cash prizes.

A total of 2,172 biogas plants have been constructed in 13 dzongkhags so far. About 1,356 pants will be constructed by the end of the 11th Plan.

Samtse, the highest achiever, constructed 453 biogas plants in the first phase. The dzongkhag was awarded cash prize of Nu 10,000.

The second phase that started from 2014 went on until November 2015. Samdrupjongkhar, the highest achiever, won certificate and cash prize for constructing 257 biogas plants.

Director General of Department of Livestock, Dr Tashi Samdrup, said that biogas programme was introduced in Bhutan in 2011 with support from Asian Development Bank to reduce destruction of forests and to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.

“To implement that the project is taken to high-altitude places. One 8 CuM biogas plant in Bumthang and two 6 CuM plants in Haa,” he added.

Project director, Dorji Gyaltshen, said that biogas reduces fossil and fuelwood consumption, reduces expenditures on purchase of LPG gas, and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions.

“It also reduces smoke-borne diseases, particularly acute respiratory infection, and improves sanitation and hygiene,” said Dorji Gyaltshen.

The plant helps improve diary production agricultural productivity through use of bio-slurry as organic manure. The use of bio-slurry also prevents degradation of land fertility.

Naina Singh Limbu, a mason from Samtse who was trained in 2011 and has so far constructed 54 biogas plants, was also awarded certificate and prize.

“I earn about Nu 6,000 from a single project. It has become an important source of income for me,” said Naina Singh Limbu. He has already started training his 14-year-old son how to construct a biogas plant. “That way, he will have something to do even if he doesn’t qualify for further studies.”

Bakta Bahadur Pulami, a 40-year-old mason from Sarpang, said that people are showing great interest in biogas plant. Bakta Bahadur from Gakidling Gewog has constructed about 54 biogas plants. He was trained in 2012.

The government in 2014 selected Chhukha, Samtse, Sarpang, Tsirang, Dagana, Lhuntse, Mongar, Pemagatshel, Tashigang, Tashiyangtse, Samdrupjongkhag as potential districts to started biogas project.

Yeshey Dema, Gelephu

Tshechu: Choekhorling gewog in Pemagatshel was near losing its age-old tradition. Not many young people are left in the villages to carry on the responsibility of preserving and promoting village traditions and cultures. And the old have retired.

So a few students, civil servants and corporate employees met. Tshogpas and mangmis joined. A common goal was set. The village tshechu must endure. To revive the dying tradition so, they decided to perform the masked dances. They learnt how to do it.

Mangmi Jigme said that with encouragement from the elders they were able to could bring back the tshechu. That was last year. Choekhorling’s three-day tshechu this year ended yesterday. From none left, the gewog today can boast of some 17 masked dancers.

“Who will come to save our traditions if we do not stand ourselves?” asked a 30-year-old corporate employee, Yeshi Zangpo. “We pledged that we would perform the dances organise the tshechu every year without fail.”

It is first time for all the masked dancers. It was difficult learning complicated dance steps. But they were determined. They had to save the tshechu. Today, they are all proud of themselves, for what they been able to achieve together.

Jigme said that Lingpa Gye – the dance of the eight Lingpas – was brought to the gewog from Khar long time ago. The tshechu is believed to have first performed at Dungur Lhakhang and there it is performed still. Where dancers leap around is a small ground but it is big enough for Meme Khamtang to run about. Meme Khamtang, here, at this tshechu is who in other tshechus would be called Atsara. It falls on the oldest man in the gewog to be Meme Khamtang.

“It is believed the steps of the masked dance are different from steps of other masked dances. That is why it is unique. We wanted to preserve this uniqueness,” said Jigme.

Tsampa Passang, 78, said Meme Khamtang is the important element of the tshechu. “Besides entertaining the spectators, his unique job is to act like he is feeding the dancers. He is also the leader of masked dances and will have to the dancers.”

The people of the gewog who are working elsewhere donate money to help conduct tshechu. With the money, dress and masks are purchased. There is tokha (meal) for dancers and spectators entire for three days.

Already this initiative to revive the tshechu is a big success. People coming to witness the tshechu is increasing by the year.

“Some of us contribute as volunteers. If we are not dancing, we donate food during tshechu,” said Tempa Zangpo, 55, from Yarjung chiwogs. “That’s how we keep the tradition alive. It is important that we become a little more responsible.”

Yangchen C Rinzin, Nganglam