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…𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi TshewangThe Matsutake Mushroom Festival was celebrated in Genekha on August 15 and 16, bringing together locals and visitors for one of Bhutan’s most anticipated harvest events. Over two days, participants joined mushroom foraging, sampled traditional cuisine, enjoyed cultural performances, and visited community markets set against the scenic Genekha valley. …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo Norgaygang Gewog has suffered one of the most destructive rainfall events in recent memory, leaving residents facing the dual burden of damaged homes and lost livelihoods. From July 28 to 30, heavy rainfall triggered landslides that blocked farm roads and destroyed acres …

…𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang Students and residents of Pelrithang, under Gelephu Gewog, are struggling to cross a river that expands dangerously during the monsoon season. The absence of a bridge has made daily commutes to Pelrithang Higher Secondary School and surrounding villages extremely risky. During heavy rains, …

Karma Dorji Bhutan is often celebrated for its commitment to Gross National Happiness, yet beneath this reputation lie pressing social challenges that demand urgent attention. Among the most critical is youth unemployment, which remains disproportionately high compared to the national average. While overall unemployment may appear low, many young people struggle to find jobs that match their education and skills. …

…𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 By Kezang ChodenThe Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly is currently gathering information on inclusive schools to improve the well-being of children with disabilities across Bhutan. The Committee highlighted several urgent concerns, including the absence of a dedicated budget for inclusive education, low …

…𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒘𝒐𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚. By Kezang ChodenMembers of Parliament have called on Chiwog Tshogpas to take a stronger and more active role in identifying and resolving issues at the grassroots level, emphasising that without their involvement many concerns risk going unnoticed. Tshogpas, they noted, …

…𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 By Yeshi Dolma Bhutan’s population is aging rapidly. By 2040, the elderly are expected to make up 14 percent of the population. Yet, pensions cover only a fraction of workers: eight percent of civil servants and state enterprise employees. For the rest, old age …

A nation’s progress is measured not only by economic growth but also by how it safeguards the well-being of its most vulnerable citizens. As population’s age and urbanization accelerates, the gaps in social protection systems become more apparent. Pension schemes, welfare programs, and disability support are no longer optional; they are essential pillars of social stability and equity. Countries that …

…𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐-𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Yeshi Dolma In an era of rising global health risks, national health indicators represent more than statistical outcomes¬- they mirror a country’s capacity to protect and serve its population. Bhutan’s latest Annual Health Bulletin offers a detailed view of the health sector’s …

…𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam Choden One year after its founding at Paro College of Education, the Service with Care and Compassion Initiative Plus (SCCI+) Club has established itself as a youth-led, community-based caregiving group in Bhutan. Built on the theme “By Youths, for Persons with Disabilities,” the initiative was created …