Monthly Archives: December, 0

When it comes to combating coronavirus, the people of Tsirang have always been a step ahead. Business communities and farmers have been helping the district’s frontline workers, especially during the lockdowns. Some people including farmers supplied tons of vegetables to quarantine facilities making them one the first contributors to the nation following the pandemic in March 2020. The residents continued their support this time as well.

The country’s rich weaving culture is among the few ancient arts that are still thriving today. In Thongsa village of Pema Gatshel, over time, weavers that once used to grow and spin their cotton yarns resorted to buying imported ones. Today, people are taking interest in growing cotton plants once again, thanks to a cotton processing plant that has been set up in the community. 

After four days into lockdown, Thimphu saw its first case of COVID-19 from the community. The little consolation that the case was detected when most of the residents stayed inside due to the lockdown is overshadowed by the fact that the case was detected in a person who was in the national referral hospital for quite some time.

With reports of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases from the community, the lockdown in Sarpang has been extended by three more days. Sarpang reported 23 new cases on Thursday, taking the total number of active cases to 51. 

As Phuentshogling town continues to see increasing covid cases from the community, the residents are worried. The town saw 22 new positive cases today, of which 15 were from the community. 

With reports of sexual harassment at workplaces and even educational institutes increasing, it has become crucial for organisations to have sexual harassment policies in place. In line with this, the Paro College of Education has committed to zero tolerance against sexual harassment. The college introduced a Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy in November last year and is implementing it from this year. 

Dog sterilisation is not new. The lack of human resources to catch stray dogs for sterilisation is even older. But this is up for a change now. In preparation for a sterilisation programme in March, the National Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme is training livestock officials and DeSuups in Gelephu in Sarpang. Bhutan plans to sterilise more than 25,000 dogs in March this year.

Bumthang has become quite synonymous with fire accidents going by the number of fire incidents in the last decade or so. Though there are no proper records, people say there was at least one fire incident annually in the district since 2010 when a major fire almost wiped out Chamkhar town. This winter is no exception. There were four fire accidents in 17 days, just recently. So what are the agencies responsible for ensuring fire safety in the district doing to tackle the problem?

Some residents of Thimphu, Paro, and Phuentshogling started using the 5G mobile network recently. But many in remote parts of the country are still struggling to get a proper 2G network. In Samtse, Wezergang or Halhaley village which lies along the Samtse-Phuentshogling highway had a poor mobile network for years. But the village today however has a reliable 4G network.

The residents of Kela in Trongsa constructed a crematorium some five years ago. It has made it easier for them to conduct funeral rites. Otherwise, they have to go to Dorji Geonba which is nearly 60 kilometres away. However, the residents are not happy as the crematorium in the chiwog is yet to have the basic amenities like electricity and water.