RBA soldiers and Bodo militants exchange fire

March 16: A group of seven RBA soldiers, while returning from an outpost, encountered Bodo Militants armed with AK rifles and exchanged fire. The incident occurred on Sunday near Sukun Taklai River in Sarpang. The Bodo militants opened fire on the RBA soldiers and ran towards the forest. The RBA soldiers took cover and returned fire. According to the press release the soldiers from Taraythang Outpost were sent to reach fresh vegetables on foot to another Outpost at Kanamakura, both under Sarpang... Read more

Japanese expertise solicited

14 March - Almost a year after the major flood last May washed away the Gasa tsachu, the once popular hot spring is still awaiting rehabilitation. The home minister Lyonpo Minjur Dorji said the country lacked the expertise to explore and study the possibility of rebuilding the hot spring. “We want to reconstruct the tsachu as soon as possible and we’d like to work together with Japan, considering the same culture of hot springs in Japan,” Lyonpo said, during his meeting with a team from Arima... Read more

GNH Seminar Next round in New Delhi

14 March - The first ever seminar between Bhutan and India on GNH concluded on March 12, with participants from both sides acknowledging the need for more discussion and study for the development philosophy to be successfully implemented. Dasho Karma Ura, the president for the centre for Bhutan studies (CBS), said that the “rich dialogue” had “enriched” the understanding of GNH for both Bhutanese and Indian participants. The seminar saw, what a CBS press release described as, “influential... Read more

T-Bank fourth commercial bank

14 March – T-Bank, Bhutan’s fourth commercial bank, which opened its Thimphu office for business yesterday, will target small and medium scale businesses, according to one of its promoters. “We can’t run after the big clients initially,” said Wangchuk Dorji, vice chairman of the Tashi group, who owns 20 percent of the Nu 220 mn bank. Maximum lending capacity to an individual client is determined by the capital base and reserves, which in T-Bank’s case comes to about Nu 64 mn. The... Read more

He Married him, She Married her

9 March: Picture ourselves looking for a needle amidst a stack of hay and finding not one, but scores of them. We will be baffled. And baffled we are, learning that there are several gays, lesbians and heterosexuals amidst us. It is the diffusion of western life, which Globalization ferried to Bhutan. This is what most of us would say. Others would construe that homosexuals have always been a part of our communities, which is now raising its head. You can take either of the two, the truth remains... Read more

Bhutanese gay and lesbian

9 March: Behind the curtains of conventions, homosex­uality is fast rearing its controversial head. Though gay and lesbian relationships are considered a taboo in Bhutan, there is an increasing number of them, thriving behind closed doors. “I want to be free” says Sengkey, a young man with a normal career and friends. He has the same interests as any other young man except that he is exclusively gay. “I am not at all shy and embar­rassed to be gay, because that is what god has made me and... Read more

Bhutanese Fashion Theme

8 March: Bhutanese textiles wowed the crowd at the Lakme Fashion Week 2010. Inspired by her recent visit to Bhutan, Indian designer Babita Malkani showcased a variety of Bhutanese textiles at the Summer Resort 2010 – Lakme Fashion Week. Keeping Bhutan as her theme, Babita Malkani’s Boho Chic line was an ode to the monasteries and architecture of the country. “During my travel to Bhutan, I decided to create a line of garments which will represent the happiest country of the world,” ex­plained... Read more

Standardising tourist hotels starts

March 5: A six-member team led by TCB started a countrywide hotel standardization and classification assessment yes­terday. The assessment is in line with the government’s decision which requires all hotels catering to tourists to be upgraded to a minimum of three star category. The month-long exercise will assesses tourist hotels and accommodations reg­istered with the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB). The hotels have been given two years to upgrade themselves. The past grading system, which... Read more

Indian cabinet secretary in Bhutan

5 March – The cabinet secretary of the government of India, Mr K.M Chandrasekhar is on a three-day visit to the country starting today. Tomorrow, the Mr Chandrasekhar will deliver a talk on “Functions of Cabinet, Committee of Secretaries and Relationship between Bureaucracy and Politicians” at the Tarayana conference hall at Chubachu, Thimphu. While in the country, Mr Chandrasekhar will receive an audience with His majesty the King and His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo. He will also call... Read more

BUS RUNS AMOK DAMAGES 13 CARS

March 3, 2010: A brand new Chinese man­ufactured bus lost control at the Debum Lam in Hon­gkong market yesterday and crashed unto motor vehicles parked by the roadside, leaving behind a trail of damaged cars. The accident that took place around 2.15 pm left altogether 13 vehicles damaged, of which an alto taxi, a Maruti 800 car and a Prado car were severely damaged. The bus howev­er suffered minor damage on the front side. The bus is owned by a private com­pany in Thimphu. Three people injured... Read more

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