Monthly Archives: December, 0

Jigme Pelden Dorji becomes the first Bhutanese to summit Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. The 24-year-old marked the historic moment at...

Namling and Durdari Bridges in Monggar will undergo major reconstruction with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA. JICA will provide nearly Nu 870 M for the reconstruction of these two bridges. The grant agreement was signed between JICA and the Ministry of Finance today. According to the Department of Surface Support, the reconstruction will improve the connection between Trashigang and Thimphu highways, reducing travel time by four hours, from about 16 to 12 hours.

The National Pension and Provident Fund, NPPF, recently completed the 120-unit residential buildings for the Gelephu Regional Referral Hospital employees. Allotment of apartments for the hospital staff began last month. However, there are not many takers. Currently, more than 30 flats remain unoccupied. The NPPF initiated the 120-unit residential building construction in 2018 to provide quality housing to health staff upon signing a MoU with the health ministry. 

To enable and empower persons living with disabilities with assistive technology, an Assistive Technology or AT Demo Centre has been opened at the Youth Development Fund Centre in Thimphu. PHENSEM- Parents Support Group, a civil society organisation, with support from the Bhutan Foundation, opened the centre today. Assistive technology includes tools and devices that help a person to do everyday chores with ease including support with hand mobility to computers reading text out loud for the visually impaired.

Access to reliable drinking water is still a challenge for many villages across the country. The issue is no exception for the residents of Tsangkha Chiwog of Dagana’s Tsangkha Gewog. The residents attribute the acute drinking water shortage to the increasing settlements and chiwog’s hilltop location.

The historically significant Tsangkha Lake in Dagana is on the verge of drying up. Residents and relevant agencies' past efforts to revive the lake to its former glory have proven ineffective. In a recent move, a mermaid statue was installed at the lake premises in the hopes of reviving the lake. Legend has it that the lake formed after a mermaid named Mendrel Zam from Tibet reached the present location over a millennium ago.

Since 2019, the Chudawong commercial vegetable farm in Trashigang’s Radhi Gewog has been running successfully until recently. Three groups of farmers cultivate various types of vegetables throughout the year. But it has been about four months since the farmland remained barren due to damaged water supply pipeline and fencing.

Since 2021, vehicle ownership transfers have been on the rise. In 2021, the Bhutan Construction and Transport Authority, BCTA, provided a grace period to transfer vehicle ownership without fines and penalties, and more than 28,000 people did so. Since then, over 16,000 people have transferred vehicle ownership in the past two years.

The Himalayan wolf is considered a rare and endangered species. It is classified vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Although the Himalayan wolf is found in the country, there is limited information on its ecology and distribution. The exact number of the species in the country is not known. This was highlighted in research by officials from the Nature Conservation Division and the World Wildlife Fund office.

During the launch of the Economic Stimulus Programme today, the prime minister announced that the moratorium on commercial housing and hotel construction loans, as well as vehicle imports, will be lifted on July 1st and August 18th, respectively. According to the prime minister, the Royal Monetary Authority made this decision after observing improvements in the country’s economy.