July, 2011
We are blind to flaw in system: PM on govt. pool vehicle misuse
Despite the government’s several attempts to ensure efficient use of pool vehicles, the misuse of government vehicles is still rampant. Across the country, BG-numbered vehicles can be seen being used for personal works of high-level officials on weekdays as well as on weekends. In Thimphu, for instance, they can be ... [more]
Down by two rungs
The World Bank revealed that Bhutan has slipped two places in the Doing Business (DB) Report 2011. Bhutan which ranked 140 from 183 countries last year occupied the 142nd place this year. Out of the 10 indicators, only two variables remained unchanged. In starting a business, the rankings dropped five places ... [more]
Houses as stores
The commercial hub’s acute shortage of housing is not because of inadequate houses. There are other reasons – most of the flats are used as go-downs (store rooms) and landlords rent their flats to temporary non-nationals as the rent paid is higher. People living across the border say that more than ... [more]
Toyota back with a bang
Although an initial jerk was felt by the State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Limited (STCBL), business with the principal Toyota Company in Japan is now back to normal. The production of vehicles was delayed for more than three months due to extensive damage at the production plant caused by the tsunami ... [more]
THE ISSUE OF ABORTION
ACCORDING TO Yangchen Palden, Administration officer of National Women’s Association of Bhutan, abortion should be legalized and for several reasons. She noted that it is way beyond the control of the government to stop the large number of abortions being carried out across the border. Furthermore, the prohibition of abortion in ... [more]
Another step in the transit policy
The transit facility arrangement took a new turn as the Bangladeshi commerce ministry announced the possibility of signing ‘protocols’ with Bhutan and another two countries wishing to acquire transit benefits through two to three road routes. This was in trail of the earlier identified 17 transit routes - seven each by ... [more]
For a lasting solution
Thimphu: In what is a major move, Bhutan’s Minister-in-Charge for Foreign Affairs, Khandu Wangchuk, discussed about the people living in the camps of Nepal with the Home Secretary of Nepal, Lilamani Paudel, on the sidelines of the SAARC Home/Interior Ministers’ meet that ended here on July 23. “Both the sides expressed ... [more]
HAPPINESS IS THE (RE) SOLUTION
IT STANDS as a landmark accomplishment that will resonate throughout the ages, and if nothing, the UN’s resolution to adopt happiness as the moral compass for its MDGs demonstrates the need to approach development with a holistic bent. This resolution will no doubt play a vital role, either directly or ... [more]
Bhutanese vehicles seized in India
Sherabling Monastery 26 July, 2011 - The Road Safety and Transport Authority is clarifying with transport officials in India on what permissions should have been sought to use vehicles with Bhutanese registration number in India. On the afternoon of July 21 four luxury vehicles with Bhutanese numbers were seized by the ... [more]
Volunteers clean Bhutan
The GNH Volunteers from the Samtse College of Education collected more than 600 sacks of garbage between Samdrupjongkhar and Thimphu. Themed “Sharing GNH concept and clean Bhutan campaign,” the 19 volunteers covered nine districts, sensitising travellers on waste management in the 15 days campaign, which ended on July 23 at ... [more]