Bhutan Daily News 22-03-23

1. A single-storeyed traditional Bhutanese house in Menjiwoong Chiwog under Serthig Gewog, Samdrup Jongkhar was razed to the ground by fire at around 2 this afternoon. All the belongings of a couple were lost to the fire. It is suspected to have started from an electrical short circuit. However, no casualties have been reported. Victims have currently put up at their relative's home.

2. This week is being observed as Global Money Week. As part of the celebrations, the Bhutan National Bank is organizing several activities ranging from talk sessions to art and quiz competitions in different schools in Thimphu. The event started off at Chang Rigphel Primary School today. The event is aimed at making youth financially literate and promoting the saving culture. More than 3,000 students are taking part in the event.

3. More than 485,000 Bhutanese have registered to vote in the fourth National Council Elections. This is according to the final electoral roll released by the Election Commission of Bhutan. Of that, more than 249,000 are female and over 236,000 are male.Trashigang has the highest number of registered voters with more than 52,000, followed by Samtse with over 51,000 and Monggar with more than 38,000.Meanwhile, Gasa has the lowest number of registered voters with just over 2,200. The notification by the ECB also states that more than 105,000 have registered as postal voters. The poll day for the national council elections has been set for the 20th of next month.

4. The Horticulture Association of Bhutan’s president has been awarded the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Award 2023. The award was presented on Monday in India.Tshering Wangchuk, the president of the non-profit organization was recognised for his contributions towards promoting horticulture in Bhutan.The Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation which presents the annual award has several main projects. Tshering Wangchuk received the award in the field of providing urban amenities to rural areas.

5. Just a year since Dagana framed a local farm road guideline, the new set of regulations has now been done away with. The new guideline was framed to streamline farm road constructions in the district, but local leaders say it has posed more challenges. The guideline which was approved during last year’s Dzongkhag Tshogdu was revoked at this year’s DT held recently.

6. Death is inevitable. So is conducting rituals and reciting prayers for the departed souls, in the Buddhist tradition. An average Bhutanese family conducts religious rituals for at least 21 days when someone dies. They believe doing so will ensure the swift rebirth of the lost soul. However, some families struggle to meet the expenses for such spiritual and religious rituals. To help those who are unable to afford hosting such rituals, a religious group comprising people from all sections of society goes around reciting prayers at the crematorium and other places upon request.

7. The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council, yesterday, cancelled the Jabmi Certificate of a lawyer and the Thrimdung Certificate of a paralegal in two separate cases. With this, the duo will not be allowed to practice or provide any legal services. The council also suspended the license of another paralegal involved in a different case.

8. The water flagship programme has come as a huge relief for the people of Norbugang village under Norbugang Gewog in Pema Gatshel who had previously faced acute drinking water shortage. However, just a few weeks after the project was handed over to the villagers, they are now dealing with a new problem, a bursting pipeline. The pipeline has to be constantly monitored and repaired.

9. Bhutan will now be able to export and import goods with third countries through major Bangladeshi seaports. This is in line with the Agreement on Movement of Traffic-In-Transit signed with Bangladesh in Thimphu today.The Minister for Industry, Commerce and Employment Karma Dorji and Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister Tipu Minshu signed the agreement. This means Bhutan will now have additional export-import ports for third-country trade in addition to the existing Kolkatta port.The agreement is also expected to build upon the existing relations and strengthen cooperation in the field of trade and commerce between the two countries.