Gangjula, which is 4,900m above sea level, is the second highest peak along the walking trail to Lunana.

The Gangjula pass is partially open, and the team should be able to cross over, if it does not snow.  The weather as of last evening was reported to be pleasant.

The team comprises a presiding officer, three polling officers, 12 security personnel led by an army officer, and a medical doctor equipped with oxygen sets. “Medical team is indispensable for a journey in high altitude,” the dzongkhag electoral registration officer, Dorji Wangdi, said.   Seven local porters are accompanying the team.

The team started on May 20 from Goenshari, the gateway to Lunana, and spent their first night at Ramina village, and the following night at Jaziphu guesthouse.  Yesterday, they camped at a place called Rakashong, which has no settlement.

“Until the second night the team, through satellite phone, reported that they were safe,” Dorji Wangdi said. “Yesterday they didn’t call, maybe because they want to save the phone battery for emergency calls.” The team is carrying two satellite phones. “In case of emergency, a rescue team at the Tencholing army, Wangdue are on standby.”

When the team reaches the Wachey polling station tomorrow, a polling official and four security personnel will stay back.  Another group from the team will stay back at the polling station in Lhedi on May 25.  The last group from the team is expected to reach the last polling station in Thangza the next day.

In Lhedi and Thangza, six teachers, a health assistant, a gewog clerk and a gewog administration officer will join the second and the third teams with the electronic voting machines (EVM).

The EVMs were reached to the three polling stations on May 14 by a private helicopter when it had flown to pick up National Council candidates. “Since we have the EVMs in place, our only concern is how the team will be able to reach the polling stations,” election commission officials said.

With more than 480 eligible voters, Lunana has the second largest vote bank from among Gasa’s four gewogs.   None of the four political parties have gone to Lunana for the common forum and to talk to voters there.

People’s Democratic party’s (PDP) Damcho Dorji of Goenkhatoe-Laya constituency said his party can’t make it to Lunana because of distance. “Since it’ll be expensive to hire a helicopter, we decided not to go,” he said.  Officially, Lunana is a 10-day walk from Goenshari.

The other three parties also decided not to go for the common forum and door-to-door campaign to the frontier gewog. “I think nobody will go for the common forum,” Gasa dzongda Sonam Jigme said.

The dzongda, who is also the dzongkhag’s chief election coordinator, said he has instructed gewog administration officials to explain about the four parties and the primary round to the voters. “I think they must be aware of the primary round and the parties through the broadcast media.”

The people of Lunana have access to BBS TV and radio.

The only candidate, who will reach Lunana, will be Druk Nyamrup tshogpa’s candidate, Tshering Dhendup, who is from the gewog.  He is traveling with the election team to cast his vote on primary poll day.

Gasa dzongkhag has less than 2,000 eligible voters.  With the common forum in Lungo polling station yesterday, the district’s four gewogs have completed the common forum.

By Tenzin Namgyel, Wangdue

Engineers, architects and surveyors employed by the armed forces, corporations, financial institutions and hydropower projects are to refrain from providing their curriculum vitae (CV) to contractors.

They have been given a month’s notice to refrain from such practices by the Construction Development Board (CDB), following complaints from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“It’s been found that most contractors have been using the CVs of already employed technical professionals for registration with the CDB and for procurement of work,” the CDB director general, Phala Dorji, said.

The director general also said that, after the months’ time to clean up, contractors found continuing with such fraudulent misrepresentation will be downgraded from, say, a large contractor to a medium one.

Agencies with engineers involved in such fraudulent activity will be asked to make sure action is taken.

“We expect engineers to be at work site but, in such cases, a corporate engineer can’t be at two sites,” the director general said. “We know there’s shortage of engineers in the market and, because of that, we allow engineers employed by private contractors to attend to two sites at a time.”

The code of conduct and ethics for engineers states, “Engineers shall not accept professional employment outside of their regular work or interest without the knowledge of their employers”.

According to CDB’s criteria for contractors registering for procurement of work, a large contractor is required to have one graduate engineer and two diploma engineers; medium contractors must have a diploma engineer and a site supervisor and for small contractors only a site supervisor is required.

“CDB is trying its best to support contractors and engineers by relaxing the restrictions but, in this case, without engineers at site, it impacts the quality of work,” Phala Dorji said. “CDB isn’t just a regulator; we also support the grievances of contractors, but through proper channels.”

Records with CDB show a total of 3,892 registered contractors in the country, of which 120 are large, 380 medium and 3,392 small contractors.  On the number of engineers, CDB has recorded 1,058 engineers with the armed forces, corporations and hydropower projects.

“By collecting information on the engineer, like their name, identity card number and organisation, we’ll set up a database, through which we’ll make sure none of the engineers are involved in such fraudulent activities,” Phala Dorji said.

Civil engineers, particularly those in the private and corporate sector, selling off their CVs to contractors in a market facing an acute shortage of such technical professionals, has been going on for many years.  Engineers are reportedly paid between Nu 100,000-Nu 150,000 by contractors to fulfill the CDB requirements and be able to bid for contracts.

Engineers employed by the government are not in a position to sell their CVs, because they can be easily identified, but the government itself has also been facing shortages.

In recent years, quite a few engineers straight out of college have preferred to apply directly to hydropower projects than join the civil service, because of the substantial difference in perks and benefits.

The issue of engineers selling CVs cropped up again recently, after an engineer complained that his CV had either been sold or given to a contractor by the human resource officer (HRO) of an organisation where the engineer had applied for a job and submitted a copy of his CV.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that more than 70 percent of the 130 or so engineers working in the Punatshangchu I and II projects have sold their CVs to contractors.

Contractors point out that such a situation exists purely because there are just not enough engineers in the market.

The CDB is going to create a record of all engineers in the country and where they work.

By Passang Norbu

After attending the last of the president’s campaigns, which was that of People’s Democratic party’s Tshering Tobgay, where over 200 people showed up, people said each president tried to woo voters in the best way possible.

“But we’ve decided on the best,” a Mongar resident, who attended all four meetings, said.

He said, in terms of oratory skills, all four presidents were good, but there were party candidates in the dzongkhag that weren’t up to the mark.

“That confuses us a bit, in the sense, we’re not sure whether we should really go for that party,” he said.

But People’s Democratic party president, Tshering Tobgay, who talked for more than an hour, said people should not vote out of sympathy and favouritism, but should choose the best of the best party.

“A party you really look up to, a party that will solve problem of people and nation at large,” he said.

To judge the party, he said, people should look at party ideology, manifesto and capability of their party as a whole.

As for PDP, he said their main aim was to decentralise the power to the people.

Tshering Tobgay said, in a democracy, people should not keep power in the hands of a few people, and even with the central government.

To address issues faster, people should have the power.

To strengthen grassroots, he said, local government should have more financial power.

He said, if elected, PDP would give Nu 2M each to every gewog to solve their problems, besides deploying one Bolero to each gewog and a power tiller to each chiwog to save labour expenses and increase income.

Roads to all gewogs will be blacktopped, banks will be opened in every gewog, and there will be fuel stations in each gewog.

He said Druk Phuensum Tshogpa has spent money in areas, where it was not necessary, leading the country to financial debt.

If elected, PDP would bring in three more private colleges in the east.

“Without enough colleges, Bhutanese people are going aboard to study,” he said, adding it was also a way to solve the rupee shortage problem in the country.

He said, if elected, PDP wants to focus on development activities in the east, which was comparatively backward.

“During DPT tenure, they brought nothing but just roads and that’s also not in good quality,” he said, adding electricity and mobile connectivity were provided by agencies, who had corporate mandate.

There were plans for senior citizens, highway between Samdrupjongkhagr and Trashigang would be cleared in one year and, if possible, road widening will be carried out between Thimphu and Trashigang.

By Dechen Tshering, Mongar

The cylinders, belonging to Damchen Petroleum, were being ferried to one of the depots in India for re-fill.

However, the driver was carrying 50-filled cylinders for which the procedure in place was that he was required to inform customs officials.

For failing to do so, while the cylinders were returned to Damchen Petroleum, custom officials fined the fuel agent Nu 47,250, about 50 percent the total value of empty cylinders and total charges of the filled cylinders.

The driver informed the officials that he was unaware of the procedures.

Asset brokers, who deal in the sale of used cars in Thimphu, are on the rise, figures, maintained by the regional department of trade and industries, show.

From six licensed and operating brokers in 2011, the number has today increased by four times to 24.  The year 2012 alone saw an inclusion of 15 brokers.

Regional director with the department, Dungtu, said, while the process to obtain a license was very simple, the brokerage business is also commercially viable, and that this is the major reason for the increase.

“The applicants just have to pay Nu 1,500 for the license and it isn’t mandatory for them to open a separate office to operate,” he said. “They can work from homes.”

On why many are venturing into the brokerage business, the owner of Kuenjung motors said it was because of the low investment required in setting up such business. “I just have to bear the miscellaneous expenses and advertising costs,” he said. “Instead of buying the cars from sellers, we register these cars and contact them, as and when there are potential customers.”

Owner of Depaul Motors, Manoj Thapa opted for the business, because it was a fresh idea in Bhutan. “Most Bhutanese usually go for brand new cars and leave their old cars for sale,” he said. “And there’s a good market for such old cars among the low income group.”

For Jigme Wangchuk, who runs Gaden Motors, one of the first brokerage firms in the capital, it was the possibility of such a business thriving well in the future that motivated him to start one.  While Jangchuk started Yeedzen Motors six months ago after he got encouraged having worked with Jigme Wangchuk.

“Although it’s difficult with a lot of competitors in the market today, I do manage to make a decent living by selling second-hand driven cars,” he said.

While those in this business also have to pay taxes to the government, it depends on the number of cars they sell every year.  Buyers also tend to prefer brokers, since the cars are well maintained, the process is faster and systematic.

However, with a number of individuals without licenses also taking up this trade, income has plummeted for the licensed ones.

“With many unlicensed brokers, compounded with limited money in the market, we’re going through a rough time, with less sales becoming a trend these days,” Manoj Thapa said.

Jigme Wangchuk added that the government and private agencies auctioning old cars at cheaper rates is another challenge they have to confront. “A strict regulation must come in place to organise the asset brokerage business,” Jigme Wangchuk said.

But the regional director clarified that this cannot materialise, since there is no logic in restricting individuals or families from selling their assets.

The freezing of vehicle loans has also led to sellers quoting high prices making it difficult for the brokers to convince the buyers.

In the last three years after the asset brokerage business took off in Bhutan, Gaden Motors sold around 100 cars; Kuenjung Motors sold 20 cars; Yeedzin Motors sold 20 cars and Depaul Motors managed to sell 15 cars.

By Tshering Wangdi

Take a closer look at Bajo town, where 131 buildings are clustered, and you are greeted with a foul smell from clogged drains and unattended garbage.

Drainage at eight different locations in the town area has been dug out.  One drain next to the bus stand, which is on the right side of the town, and seven others on the extreme left, have been left open since mid April.  The drains are still open and no one is working on it.

“It’s a risk to pedestrians, who walk the town at night,” a resident, Choki said. “I’m afraid children and drunk men might fall into the hole.”

The drains are between four to five feet deep.

A civil servant, Ngawang, said the moment he comes out the house, he breathes in the foul air. “It’s horrible especially when there is strong wind,” he said. “Something has to been done, otherwise it could lead to health problems.”

Drains that run in front of every building are broken, clogged or overflowing.  There are more than 3,000 people living in the town that occupies 40 acres of land.  Many residents said the situation is not improving despite their requests to the municipality. “It’s no use telling them, so we resort to adapting with the situation,” one of the shopkeepers said.

In the drains are leftover food, plastic, wooden pieces, torn clothes and baby napkins, covered by a layer of scum and flies.

The municipal office said they procured 120m of Hume pipe, which are 300mm in diameter to replace the damaged ones. “We’ll soon resume work and put new pipes at digging sites,” deputy executive engineer of Bajo municipal office, Lobzang, said.

He said acute shortage of both skilled and unskilled people has been the main reason for not being able to work regularly on the clogged drains. “Given the small wage rate, people aren’t willing to work in such places,” he said.

As per the government rate, labourers are entitled Nu 165 a day, while the local rate is Nu 300. “Nobody wants to work at the government rate,” Lobzang said.

The municipal office, he said, has an annual budget of Nu 1M for town cleaning that includes budget for drainage and waste management. “We have no problem in terms of budget,” he said.

Lobzang said drains get clogged, because people dump clothes, plastics and broken bottles. “Condoms are common,” he said, adding that the drainage system would improve, if people cooperated and took responsibility of dumping waste in a proper manner. “Everybody complains, but who’s coming forward to face the situation,” he said.

Apart from the poor drainage, degradable and non-degradable wastes are littered all over the town, and sewerage lines are leaking on and off.  Most bins provided by the municipality stand empty, while wastes are dumped around it. “We throw outside the bins, because many just do that,” another resident Sherub said.

The municipality collects 1,000MT of waste every day from the town and dumps at Chamilabtsa landfill, around four km away from Bajo.

By Tenzin Namgyel, Wangdue

Almost a year after Pemagatshel hospital began providing gynaecology services, health officials there say the district is not centrally located to provide such services.

Health officials in Pemagatshel feel gynaecology service should have been established either in Dewathang or Samdrupjongkhar, because it would have been a convenient centre for patients to visit.

Last July, Pemagatshel hospital started gynaecology service along with an operation theatre.

A Burmese gynaecologist was posted at the hospital initially, but after five months she requested for a transfer to Gelephu.  A new gynaecologist joined the hospital last month.

Pemagatshel hospital started offering gynaecology services after it saw an increasing number of gynaecology complications, which had to be referred to Mongar regional hospital, 255km away.

Records with Pemagatshel hospital show that 164 patients were referred to either Mongar or Dewathang hospitals in 2010, out of which 47 were complicated gynaecology cases.  The same number of patients was referred the following year.

Gynaecologist at the district hospital, Dr Kezang, explained that it would have been more convenient for patients, if she were posted either in Dewathang or Samdrupjongkhar hospitals, instead of Pemagatshel.

“More than 50 percent of gynaecology patients are referred from Samdrupjongkhar,” she said, adding that Pemagatshel hospital, being away from the town, does not have restaurants or hotels for patient attendants or the patients themselves, if they are unable to eat hospital food.

Pemagatshel district hospital is almost two kilometres away from the town.  No hotels or shops are located nearby and hospital does not have a cafeteria.

Also, the operation theatre, despite being functional, is not yet fully equipped, she said.  The OT does not have foetal monitor, an instrument to conduct vaginal delivery, nor a CTG, a foetal doppler that examines the heart rate of a foetus, or a diathermy that is used in controlling bleeding during delivery.

“But, most importantly, we don’t have a generator installed and power supply here isn’t enough for a hospital that has OT service,” Dr Kezang said.

She, however, added that a repaired generator has been arranged from Lhuentse hospital, but is yet to be installed.  Pemagatshel hospital has a blood bank unit, but it hardly stores any blood.

“There are no donors available in a scarcely populated area like Pemagatshel,” she said. “We’ve been asking all referral patients to bring in blood from the hospital from which they’re referred; during emergencies we arrange blood from our staff.”

Referral cases from Samdrupjongkhar started increasing after the Burmese gynaecologist at Dewathang military hospital left almost a year ago on completion of her term.  Since then Samdrupjongkhar residents frequently travel the 18km between Dewathang military hospital and the district hospital.

“This is my third time coming here for ultrasound, but I couldn’t meet the medical officer the first time, and the machine malfunctioned, the second time,” a seven-month old pregnant woman at Dewathang hospital early this month said. “I’m worried about how I’d reach Pemagatshel if emergency arises during delivery.”

Meanwhile, in the last two months since the new gynaecologist joined, Pemagatshel hospital admitted 51 gynaecology patients, of which about 20 were from Samdrupjongkhar.  Every day the gynaecologist sees about 15 gynaecology patients in its OPD.

By Nirmala Pokhrel, Pemagatshel

Farmers in Dopshari gewog are welcoming the launch of the farm machinery hiring service by the government, over the weekend, in fertile Paro valley.

“This is so helpful,” farmer Kinley Wangmo said, as she planted rice seedlings in her field that had been ploughed by a tractor hired from the agriculture machinery centre (AMC). “Even though we had a tractor prior, it was difficult to always find a driver.”

AMC not only hires out farm machinery, but operators as well.

Another farmer, Yeshey, added that another benefit was that hiring from the government was significantly cheaper than from private owners.  He also pointed out that farmers did not have to worry about maintenance.

Another significant benefit several farmers said was that by hiring the farm machinery as a group, rather than as individuals, work was completed much faster, as everyone cooperated.

One farmer said that, in the past, disputes over allowing farm machinery to pass over land belonging to someone else usually arose, but that the new group arrangement eliminated such issues.

AMC programme director Karma Thinlay said farmers, who did not own their own farm machinery, would particularly benefit, as they previously hired from private owners, who charged them higher rates or may have been reluctant to hire out.  He said that AMC hires at up to a 57 percent subsidised rate.

He pointed out that, while the farm hiring service was launched in Paro only this weekend, it is also available in Wangdue, Punakha, and in the south.

The farm machinery hiring service aims at increasing utilisation of fallow land, income generation through crop intensification, and commercialisation of agriculture.

Karma Thinlay said that, besides promoting farm mechanisation, the service would also address the labour shortage being experienced in rural agricultural communities.  He said that the service could address rural-urban migration, as youth could be employed to operate farm machinery.

Another impact the service will have is the formation of farmer groups or cooperatives.  Karma Thinlay said that this would be in line with the country’s GNH philosophy.  He said that cooperation would be encouraged, as groups would be given preference rather than individuals.

Demand for the hiring service has spread to other gewogs in Paro, Karma Thinlay said.

By Gyalsten K Dorji, Paro

There is no doubt about Bhutan’s abundant biodiversity.  The whole country is located within one of 34 designated global biodiversity hotspots.  Ranging from sub-tropical to alpine ecosystems, the country is endowed with rich habitats that host a number of endemic and endangered species.  By creating protected areas in over 50 percent of country’s geographical area, and designating biological corridors to connect the protected areas, Bhutan has demonstrated an enormous commitment to environmental conservation.  In addition, all development programmes are required to pass a stringent environmental screening to minimise negative environmental effects.

As almost 70 percent of the Bhutanese population live in rural areas, nature plays significant social, cultural, and economic roles.  Rural communities are fully dependent on natural products like fodder and fuel wood and even collect wild vegetables.  The degradation of these natural resources will further marginalise poorer sections of society.  Thus, the country’s development philosophy – Gross National Happiness – recognises environmental conservation as one of its four pillars.

The importance of the country’s natural resources stretches far beyond those living in rural areas.  Glaciers in northern Bhutan and other water bodies like rivers, streams, and lakes cover nearly 11 percent of the country’s total surface area.  The water stored in these is an important source of energy that drives Bhutan’s thriving hydropower industry.

According to national accounts from 2011, hydropower generation accounted for 13.92 percent of the total GDP.  During the year 2011-12, Druk Green Power corporation limited’s hydropower projects made it one of the highest revenue earners, with over 15 percent of the nation’s total revenue.  Department of energy has reported that 80 percent of the water flowing in the rivers of Bhutan is contributed by forested watersheds, highlighting the importance of effective watershed management and conservation to sustainable hydropower generation.  Even tourism, which accounts for 3.8 percent of Bhutan’s total revenue, relies on nature as a key attraction.  As tourist arrivals continue to increase, recognition of the importance of maintaining Bhutan’s pristine natural environment – a sure draw for the majority of tourists – is also on the rise.

Carbon sequestration by the vast forests of Bhutan is another ecosystem service, which has benefits for the global community.  the watershed management division of the department of forest and park services claims that Bhutan emits approximately 1.5M tonnes of carbon annually; at the same time, Bhutan’s forests absorb approximately 6.3 M tonnes.  Through this, Bhutan contributes to global climate change mitigation efforts.  In April 2010, Bhutan became an observer to the UN-REDD programme, with hopes of being rewarded for its contribution to mitigating global carbon emissions.

Natural resources are currently maintained by the state government through various agencies like the ministry of agriculture and forests and national environment commission. However, the government of Bhutan initiated a community forest programme in the early 1990s that continues to encourage conservation at the local level and promote sustainable use of natural resources.

However, there are still many challenges to Bhutan’s conservation-oriented national forestry and environmental policies.  Despite an extensive rural electrification programme, demand for fuelwood is increasing.  According to national statistics bureau, the total fuel wood consumption increased five fold between 2004 and 2007.  The increasing demand for fuel wood and infrastructure development, like the construction of farm roads, is negatively impacting the nation’s forest quality and total forest cover.  The government’s aim to connect all gewog centres by road during the 10th five-year plan has led to the construction of roads through many forested areas.  The open access to virgin forests may result in the gradual degradation of Bhutan’s forests.

In addition, the use of high-value natural resources such as yartsa gunbub, which has enhanced the income of local communities, is turning unsustainable.  In the 2004-05 harvesting season, more than 153kg were collected and officially auctioned; in 2007-08, this figure was reduced to 52 kg, translating to losses of Nu 3.4M.  This reduction was primarily attributed to unsustainable harvesting practices.

Maintaining forest cover and protecting water sources in Bhutan is crucial for the Bhutanese economy as well as for improving health and sanitation standards.  Water resources are to Bhutan what oil fields are to the countries of the Middle East.  The Bhutanese economy is fuelled by water-dependent power generation plants.  Additionally, the natural environment offers ecosystem services beyond our national boundaries like carbon sequestration, water supply, and climate regulation.  For these, the global community should support Bhutan in conserving the nation’s pristine natural environment.

On this special occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, let us be aware of how crucial role biodiversity and water are to our livelihoods and wellbeing.  For the conservation of biodiversity to be sustainable, public participation must be enhanced.  Possible mechanisms designed to provide payment to communities that work to protect valuable water and biodiversity resources, ensuring their continued productivity and availability, need to be explored in order to enhance equitable economic development.

Kuenzang Tshering 

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

The winner of last year’s Thimphu ‘A’ division league was expecting to score more for being pitched against one of the top two teams from last year’s ‘B’ division.

Yeedzin scored its first goal in a penalty shootout when its striker Chencho sent the goal to the back of the net in 33 minutes and scored the second in 42 minutes.

In the second half, Druk United FC came in strong but failed to score for every attempt it made was well defended and saved. Yeedzin’s captain Yeshi Dorji scored the last goal in the 75th minute.

Druk United’s coach Kinley Dorji said the game spirit was excellent until the penalty shoot out. “Then my young boys lost confidence, the ball position and that spirit was gone,” he said.

But he said the all performance was good. “The main purpose of the team is to build up my boys’ strength, physical fitness, get used to playing on the artificial turf and improve their passing,” the coach said.

This is the second match Druk United has lost in the league. Today, Thimphu FC will play Druk Star FC at 5:30pm.

By Tashi Phuntsho