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…𝑹𝑩𝑷 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 Ngawang JamphelThe Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) are intensifying efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks. The total number of drug-related cases registered in 2022 was 761, while the cases saw a drastic rise to 3,179 within January 2023 to November 2023. While recent operations have resulted …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. Susmika SubbaThe National Statistics Bureau (NSB) of Bhutan recently published a poverty profile on December 29, 2023, drawing on the Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) conducted in 2022. The findings, presented in …

…𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒊 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 Sonam Deki The remote village of Garsabi, situated under Rebati Chiwog and located nearly 15 km away from Panbang town, witnessed a historic moment as it received power supply for the first time on January 4, 2024. This significant development marks the beginning of a new era …

…𝑨𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆-𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 ‘𝑳𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒚’ 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚. Sonam DekiWhile festivities such as Diwali, Christmas, and Halloween prompt meticulous preparations well in advance, one may wonder if the same holds true for Lolay. …

…𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝑾𝑾𝑭’𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 65,000 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 12 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒔 Phurpa Wangmo In the recently released 2022-2023 report by WWF-Bhutan, Chimi Rinzin, the Country Director, reflects on the past year as an inspiring journey marked by resilience and adaptability, especially in the wake of the post-pandemic landscape.With Bhutan experiencing significant economic …

…𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 Phurpa Wangmo The residents of Tshaluna in Thimphu, primarily rely on livestock and agriculture for their livelihoods. Water plays a crucial role in sustaining life in this community. Unfortunately, the village, comprising more than 150 households in Mewang …

…𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐛𝐲 𝟓.𝟐𝟏 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒.𝟎𝟗 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 Phurpa Wangmo In a recent report released by the National Statistics Bureau on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), it was revealed that the index surged by 4.60 percent in November 2023 compared to the same period last year. The increase was widespread, affecting both food …

…𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝑽𝒆𝒈-𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕, 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑶𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 (𝑫𝒐𝑨). Susmika SubbaIn a significant acknowledgment of Bhutan’s strides in agriculture and rural development, the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation and Initiatives (AFACI) conferred the Most Outstanding Country Award for 2023 upon the nation on December 26, 2023. The Rural Development …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔, 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 Sonam Deki A significant number of private sector employees working in hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops have expressed dissatisfaction over what they perceive as a lack of public holidays, highlighting disparities compared to …

…𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒅𝒆 Krishna Kumar SanyasiThe recent notification from Thimphu Thromde has caused dissatisfaction among vegetable vendors and wholesalers. The regulations, intended to alleviate parking congestion and enhance sales at the Centenary Farmers’ Market (CFM), have left …