Bhutan Daily News 09-06-23

𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗻

Western Australia is exploring opportunities to strengthen the educational ties between Bhutan and the state. The Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly and the delegates who are in the country said the Western Australian Premier’s University Scholarship Programme will be extended to Bhutanese from next year. The Western Australian government announced the scholarship programme last year and it is provided to ten postgraduate international students to study in five universities in the state.

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The forest fire in Haa above the Lhakhang Karp which broke out yesterday is almost contained. Due to rugged terrain, some of the pockets that are inaccessible are still burning.

However, officials said the risk of the fire spreading towards settlements and Lhakhangs located atop the ridge is stabilized. Today, over 300 volunteers helped in combating the fire. There are no reports of any casualties. However, the fire destroyed over 61 acres of the forests. Forestry officials and volunteers will continue the firefighting efforts tomorrow.

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𝗗𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴

With no or little spring showers, the monsoon season is already upon us but without much rain. An untimely rainfall hurts some people more than others. Farmers, especially, are at the receiving end of it, some having to uproot and discard their crops as immature as in Phuentshogling and Tsirang. In desperation, others had to appease deities for rainfall.

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𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬

The Commission proposes an upward revision of 50 per cent of the minimum pay scale across all position levels in the civil service. Factoring in the effect of both the pay revisions, since it is expected that the outcome of the Sixth Pay Commission will also come into implementation from July 2023, the increase in the overall pay package will range from 55 per cent for staff at the higher level to 74 per cent for staff at a lower level.

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A forest fire that initially broke out near Benshingmo village of Udzorong Gewog in Trashigang on Monday evening has now been contained.

Thanks to the timely rainfall that led to the successful containment of the fire last night. The fire caused significant damage, burning more than 550 acres of Chir pine forest. The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained.

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𝗗𝗧𝗧 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

The Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa declared one more candidate in Trashigang today. 31-year-old Karma Dema is the party’s candidate for the Panbang constituency in Zhemgang. Karma Dema graduated from the College of Language and Culture Studies in Trongsa with a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Literature. Before joining politics, she operated an online business in her village. The Druk Thuendrel Party has declared 39 candidates so far.

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𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲

The Lhamoi Dzingkha Dungkhag court in Dagana has sentenced a 30-year-old male teacher from Lhamoi Dzingkha Middle Secondary School to three months in prison for a child battery case. The judgment was passed yesterday. According to the judgment, the teacher was found guilty of beating 14 class II students when they were found shouting during class hours on 1st May. The father of one of the students reported the incident to the Lhamoi Dzingkha police in the evening. In a phone interview with BBS, the father said that he reported the incident because his son sustained severe bruises on both thighs. The teacher can pay Thrimthue in lieu of imprisonment. Currently, he does not plan to appeal to higher courts.

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𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐲𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐆𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐠, 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐚

More than 280 individuals from Laya Gewog in Gasa have departed for cordyceps collection this year. On the 23rd of last month, the gewog administration issued permits to 282 people, which is fewer than the previous year's count. According to Laya Gup Tshewang, more than 400 permits were issued last year. The gup added that people opted out of collection due to a poor yield this year. On the 1st of next month, cordyceps collectors will be required to return their permits. The collection period for cordyceps spans one month, during which people gather them from the Jakabu, Wakeyla, Tsharijatsha, and Ridruzhi areas. However, the residents of Lunana have not yet commenced cordyceps collection due to snow-covered mountains. The gewog administration will begin issuing permits for Lunana from Thursday next week.

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Fiscal Budget 2023-2024

In the morning session of the National Assembly today, the finance minister Namgay Tshering, will introduce the Budget Appropriation Bill for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and the Supplementary Budget Appropriation Bill for the Fiscal Year 2022- 2023. The finance minister will also report on the budget of the previous fiscal. The members of the National Assembly will also adopt the two bills during the same session.