| English | Dzongkha | Wednesday, April 14, 2021 |
The lockdown came down harshly on street vendors, as it did for many other workers in the country’s informal sector. One such example is the street hawkers selling tea and snacks at the sale outlet near the national referral hospital in Thimphu. A year has passed already and the outlet still remains closed affecting the livelihood of the street hawkers.
The government’s ginger buyback scheme has received an overwhelming response from the farmers in Dorokha under Samtse. Farmers from the dungkhag sold over 82 tonnes, equivalent to six truckloads of ginger during the buyback, which lasted four days. The government initiated the buyback scheme considering the poor market situation for the product due to the pandemic.
Venturing into a baking business has been the right decision for a group of girls in Pema Gatshel. With their cookie business picking up in the region, the group is now planning to further expand its business. Lack of proper baking equipment, however, remains a challenge for their business.
Like many industries in the country, 2020 was not a successful year for Dungsam Polymers Limited in Nganglam, Pema Gatshel. The company’s overall sales dropped by 20 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dungsam Polymers is a manufacturing company of poly or plastic woven bags commonly used for packing cement and rice among other goods.
In order to provide equal opportunity to all shops in Thimphu amid the lockdown, over a hundred shops operating till now will be replaced starting tomorrow. This is to let the incoming shops clear their old stock and to let their businesses sustain. To this effect, over a hundred shop owners underwent tests for COVID-19 today.
To ease the problems faced by orange growers and Indian traders in Nganglam, the Dungkhag COVID-19 Taskforce and the Bank of Bhutan have started a temporary banking service at the Mini Dry Port. And people are all smiles.
In Punakha, locals of Yebisa Chiwog have found an alternative to raise chili seedlings – an easier and better one. Polytunnel, a mini-greenhouse has replaced the conventional method of raising chili seedlings in an open area.
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the demand, doma dealers in Paro are making fortune like never before out of betel nut. Doma is a must-have commodity for the residents there and dealers are paying equal attention to their needs.
Both poultry farmers and feed agents in Tsirang learned a lot of lessons after the first nationwide lockdown in August last year. The district reported an acute shortage of poultry feed during the first lockdown, claiming the lives of several birds, but not this time.
For many, looking for a job is becoming a secondary option now. As the country records increasing youth going back to their village to work in farms, a young graduate in Zhemgang steals the attention of many, this time.