Kuensel Newspaper

Workshop relocation � going, going, not yet gone

Waiting for blacktopped roads, drainage system and waste disposal site

8 May, 2008 - The infrastructure at Olarangchu, where Thimphu�s workshops are to be relocated, is not yet completed but that has not stopped the Thimphu city corporation from pressurising workshop owners to move or else ...

Flash flood raises relocation issue

Leftover wreckage after nature�s fury

8 May, 2008 - A flash flood that hit Lhuentse town�s upper market on May 1, after a small stream burst its banks following a heavy downpour, washed away a temporary wooden toilet and inundated a hotel and a store.

Cordyceps collection liberalised

Cordyceps spores

8 May, 2008 - There will be more hands picking Yartsa Goenbub (Cordyceps sinesis) this summer with the agriculture ministry liberalising the number of people from each household to collect a prized source of income for Bhutanese highland farmers.

Good Samaritan killed in freak accident

The offending fallen water pipe

8 May, 2008 - A 16-year-old boy named Gyepo lost his life in a freak accident in Bondey on May 2 when strong winds dislocated an eighteen-foot water pipe that fatally punctured his head. The incident happened when he was carrying an injured friend to the doctor.

Election duty claims payment delayed

8 May, 2008 - Zhemgang dzongkhag is yet to get over the National Assembly elections with about 230 officials on election duty in the 39 polling stations still not paid their travel and daily allowances.

An official in the dzongkhag administration, who chose anonymity, told Kuensel that, though it was a matter of pride to take part in the historic election, now he was frustrated because he had not been paid TA/DA even after a month.

Third competitor in milk market

8 May, 2008 - Introduced in February this year, �Zimdra� homogenized double toned milk from the Singye Group, is the latest option for processed milk consumers in the country.

Company officials say that it has so far sold about 120,000 litres (10,000 cases).

Get, set, go for 3G

8 May, 2008 - Sixty of the estimated 200,000 cellular users in the country have subscribed for Bhutan telecom ltd�s (BTL) 3G services, which allow video calls and high speed internet on cell phones.

The service, which was launched on May 5, and is available only in Thimphu, offers various packages ranging in cost from Nu 200 to 5,000.

A Gongdue fable: From riches to rags

From Chaibi�s biggest home to poorest household

8 May, 2008 - A two-day walk, west of Mongar town, gets you to Chaibi village, close to the border of Zhemgang district.

Chaibi village, in Gongdue gewog, consists of only seven households and is one of the poorest areas in the dzongkhag. And the poorest household in the village is occupied by three brothers, who suffer from a mental and speaking disorder.

Failed power-tiller track promoted to farm road

The Nabji Korphu trail - Still unusable 4 years and Nu 9 million later

8 May, 2008 - The construction of the 29-km power-tiller track to Nabji Korphu in Trongsa has not only been delayed but is also regarded as a failed project, with increasing instances of landslides and falling debris along its sharp hairpin bends.

Employment-oriented courses in Phuentsholing

8 May, 2008 - With a view to address the competitive job market, the management institute of education (MIE) in Phuentsholing last week introduced a new diploma course in computer applications (DCA).

The institute had earlier offered only diploma and certificate courses in business management, along with similar crash courses for in-service personnel.