Bhutan Daily News 28-10-23

𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝘂𝗿𝗶-𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗶- 𝗠𝗼𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿

The Kuri-Gongri bridge in Monggar will be reconstructed within two months. The Infrastructure and Transport Minister assured this during the meet the press session yesterday. The minister said the modular bridge with a carrying capacity of 50 metric tonnes will be constructed for temporary use. The government plans to construct a concrete bridge in a different location for permanent use which will take a longer time to complete. The Kuri-Gongri bridge, which connects Gyalpozhing in Mongar and Nganglam in PemaGatshel, collapsed twice this year, in May and in June.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Dorji Tshering said that it is going to take about two years to construct a permanent bridge over the river because it is going to be constructed with concrete.

"We are not going to construct this bridge in two to three months. But as we need to construct a bridge immediately for commuters in the same place where the old bridge has collapsed, we are going to build a modular bridge as a temporary measure. We have already placed the orders for the materials and also made the payments”, he added.

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𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝟭𝟬 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁- 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿

The health minister says the government is exploring means to recruit foreign health workers if at all the health ministry’s attrition rate crosses 10 percent. The ministry’s current attrition rate stands between 7 to 8 per cent. During the Meet The Press session yesterday, the health minister said that the ministry acknowledges the fact that if the attrition rate reaches an alarming level, it would disrupt the delivery of health services in the country. To address this concern, the minister said the ministry is adopting a few strategies.

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𝗔𝗗𝗕 𝗕𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗦𝗢 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗦𝗢𝘀

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed to continue collaborating with the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country and coordinate their programmes in line with the government’s developmental priorities as is the practice. For this, a two-day seminar called the ADB Bhutan CSO Partnership Day was observed in Paro, which ended yesterday.

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𝗚𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗽𝗵𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻

GELEPHU – Efforts are underway to expedite the process of land replacement and compensation for affected landowners that fall in the line of Gelephu domestic airport expansion.

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𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗸𝗵𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿

Pelkhil School in Thimphu will become Bhutan’s first private school to offer a Cambridge curriculum from next year.

The school is expected to be accredited by Cambridge International Education next month.

The Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA) held a consultation meeting with 20 private schools on September 4.

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𝗪𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲

Pema Tshering Tamang, 43, found himself in the depths of despair after losing his beloved wife to alcohol-related illness last week.

Rather than receiving the support and sympathy he so desperately needed, he was confronted with a shocking revelation as his father-in-law traveled all the way from Samdrup Jongkhar. His motive was not to offer comfort but to collect the death certificate of his deceased daughter to claim the life insurance amount he believed was owed to him by the gewog.

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𝐇𝐑𝐇 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐄𝐞𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐳𝐡𝐨𝐮, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚

HRH Ashi Eeuphelma Choden Wangchuck attended the 4th Asian Para Games, in Hangzhou, China, leading a delegation of four para athletes, four coaches and one official. This was the second Asian Para Games that Team Bhutan participated in, the first being in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, in 2018; where two para athletes represented Bhutan.

Team Bhutan competed in archery, athletics (shot put), shooting and badminton. The athletes all gave their best, but eventually fell to formidable opponents. The athletes demonstrated remarkable progress, despite the considerable challenges they had to overcome, in a relatively short time frame.

HRH was present at every competition, offering words of encouragement to the athletes at every opportunity, and leading the small yet enthusiastically loud, cheering contingent.

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The State Funeral for Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji, the Chairperson of the Privy Council, was held at Hejo today. Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji passed away on October 9, 2023.

A guard of honor was presented by the Royal Bhutan Army as the funerary pyre was lit. The funerary prayers were presided over by His Holiness the Je Khenpo.

His Majesty The King attended the funeral, a gesture of honor and recognition of Lyonpo Chenkyab’s lifetime of service to the nation. The funeral was also attended by the Prime Minister, heads of government agencies, constitutional bodies and armed forces, and many others who came to pay their respects.

Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji joined the Civil Service in October 1961, and served in various capacities during his long and illustrious career. He was conferred the Red Scarf in 1975, the Orange Scarf in 1991 and the Druk Thuksey on 17 December 2017. He was appointed the Chairperson of the Privy Council in 2008, where he served until his passing.

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His Majesty The King graced the celebration of the 35th Anniversary of Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) in Bhutan.

The JICA Volunteer program was formally initiated in Bhutan in 1987, with the signing of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer Dispatch Agreement between the governments of Japan and Bhutan. The first volunteers were sent to the Agricultural Machinery Centre in Paro in July 1988.

Japan-Bhutan relations, however, stretch back to at least 1964, when the first Japanese national came to work in Bhutan. In recognition of his services to Bhutan, Dasho Keiji Nishioka was conferred the red scarf by His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo in 1980.

The close relations between Japan and Bhutan have been enriched by the over 641 Japanese nationals who lived and worked across Bhutan through the JOCV programme. The volunteers have worked to contribute to Bhutan’s development efforts in various sectors, including education, health, ICT, infrastructure, and sports.

The celebration was attended by the Prime Minister, the Ambassador of Japan to Bhutan, and other officials and dignitaries.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

As Bhutan enters the fiscal year 2023-24, while there have been positive signs of progress, such as a reduction in the fiscal deficit due to increased revenue mobilization, Bhutan faces challenges with a projected widening fiscal deficit, driven by reduced grant estimates. The total public debt has risen to alarming levels, reaching 136.8 percent of GDP, primarily attributed to hydropower debt and domestic borrowing. This poses a significant threat to Bhutan’s fiscal health and economic stability.

In a world of ever-evolving economic landscapes, the significance of maintaining minimal public debt cannot be overstated. The global financial crisis of 2008 was a stark reminder of the repercussions of unchecked public debt, and as we stand in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s imperative to revisit this topic.