Chairing the meeting the Lhengye Zhungtshog Chairman, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, said that the success of B

Today, the people of Bhutan were economically much better off than ever before. They had witnessed a steady rise in income and consequently in the standard of living, and also

Unlike in other countries, the developmental benefits had been uniform throughout the country. There were no glaring income disparities between different dzongkhags nor between the urban and the rural areas.

Bhutan’s natural environment and its cultural heritage were well preserved, owing to the government’s recognition that economic development alone would not safeguard the country’s future well-being.

Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, however, reminded the Gasa representatives that development planning in Bhutan was at the threshold of a major transition. About a year from now, the government would be launching the geog-based planning where people will take centre-stage in the development process by framing and implementing the Plans themselves.

Reporting the dzongkhag’s progress at the meeting, Dzongda Sonam Dawa said that Gasa had seen all round development in the Eighth Plan. More infrastructure for hospitals, schools and roads had been built while the livestock and agriculture sectors, the primary occupation and source of livelihood for the people, had been greatly strengthened.

On His Majesty the King’s command, the Gasa Primary School was upgraded to a junior high school. The construction of the Tashithang-Damji road, which is expected to remove Gasa’s physical isolation, had begun. A telephone exchange had been set up enabling the people in Bhutan’s remotest dzongkhag to communicate with the rest of the world.

The dzongda said that the free distribution of yaks, sheep and other breeds of cattle had improved the living standard of the people in the dzongkhag’s two northern-most geogs, Laya and Lunana. Meanwhile, the nation-wide increase in the daily wages and the porterage charges had greatly benefited the people in the entire dzongkhag.

To strengthen the dzongkhag’s strong tradition of spirituality, a shedra was introduced in the historical Tashi Thongmoen Dzong coinciding with the Silver Jubilee celebrations of His Majesty the King’s reign.

According to the dzongda, as of January 30, 2001, the dzongkhag had utilised over Nu 108 million in developmental activities, out of its total Eighth Plan budget of Nu 226.24 million. The low budget utilisation, he said, was caused by the dzongkhag’s inherent disadvantages such as the rugged topography, harsh winter climate and remote location.

The home minister, Lyonpo Thinley Gyamtsho, briefed the meeting of the importance of preserving the lhakhangs and goendeys in the dzongkhag. Gasa had 21 lhakhangs which had to be renovated, as and when necessary, besides the ruins of the Hobtsho Dzong, built by Hobtsho Lam (father of first Druk Desi Tenzin Drugyel), that had to be preserved for its historical importance.

An official representing the livestock sector said that Gasa had a huge potential to cultivate and export medicinal herbs. Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba also pointed out that medicinal herbs could benefit the entire Bhutanese economy, not just Gasa dzongkhag. If the demand for herbal medicines continued to expand at the present rate, Bhutan could become a major exporter.

The former Laya gup, Damchoe, said that the lives of the people in Laya and Lunana geogs had improved dramatically ever since His Majesty the King granted soelras to improve their livestock from the Fifth Plan onwards. Since then yak and sheep breeds had improved considerably, increasing the productivity and subsequently the income of the people.

The former gup, however, pointed out that the yak herders of Laya and Lunana did not own sufficient grazing lands to cope with the increase in the number of cattle and yaks, and suggested that the grazing lands owned by the dratshang be given to the herders.

According to Pem Dorji of Khamoe geog, the establishment of the Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Park had also contributed to the economy of Gasa dzongkhag. Each year the park attracted a large number of tourists creating the opportunity for the local people to work as porters and to hire their horses.

Even as the dzongkhag had made rapid strides in many areas of development, its poor record in education has persisted as one of its most pressing problems. An education official informed the meeting that more than 70 percent of the children in Gasa did not go to school.

While the low enrollment could also have been caused by the difficulties children face in attending far-flung schools in adverse weather conditions (schools in the higher regions of Laya and Lunana remain closed for almost eight months because of severe winters), the general trend strongly reflected parents’ ignorance of the value of education.

Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba said that if the trend continued, the people of Gasa could soon end up lagging behind their compatriots in other dzongkhags. “We heard that parents are reluctant to send their children to schools,” he said. “If this is true, then you are not taking advantage of the free education that the government is providing.”

Karma Tshering of Khamae geog requested the government to post more competent doctors at the hospital in Gasa. At the moment the people were compelled to travel all the way to Punakha or Thimphu for treatment of serious illnesses, facing great difficulties during the extremely cold and wet seasons.

Informing the progress of the Tashithang-Damji road, a department of road official said the construction had been completed up to Kabina, six kilometres from Tashithang. The initial estimated length of 12 kilometres had later been increased to 23 kilometres to avoid huge rocks and steep cliffs between Gathana and Damji. The cost would thus almost double from the present projection of Nu 30 million.

The construction of the Damji–Gasa road would ease the life of the people in Gasa like nothing else, according to the chimi of Khatoe and Khamoe geogs, Ugyen. “The road fulfills the dream of the people of Gasa,” he said. He requested that the road be built all the way to Gasa dzong, if not in the present plan then in the Ninth Plan, so that the entire dzongkhag would benefit.

Gyem Tshering of Lunana said the Goen Shari—Lunana mule track remained closed for most of the year because of ice and snow. He felt that if the government constructed another road via the Phochu river in the Ninth Plan, it will shorten the travelling distance to Lunana by three to four days.

Teeming with development activities, Gasa today presents a starkly different picture from what it was only a few years ago. Its image as a remote and inaccessible domain which offered no immediate solution for development had been removed after it was granted the status as a separate dzongkhag by His Majesty the King.