Almost all your comments on “Visiting tourists” expressed concern about the Prime Minister’s executive order to prepare a blueprint to do away with the minimum tourist tariff. The poll asking, “Should the minimum tariff for tourists be removed?” drew a similar response with 82% saying “No!” Thank you for your comments. As promised, I’ll share [...]
Guess how much an egg costs in Gakiling? Two ngultrums! Yes, farmers there are willing to sell their eggs for a pittance. And still they still don’t get any buyers. That just shows how little access they have to markets. “Yoed ba chin tsong sa med. May ba chin nyo sa med,” is how Ap [...]
The bedrock of our successes in the tourism sector has been the “low volume, high value” policy. This unique policy has served us exceedingly well ever since the first tourists started visiting our Kingdom in early 1970s. And today, Bhutan is both famous and envied the world over for its cautious tourism policies. This policy [...]
On September 9, 2007 a flyover that was being built in Hyderabad collapsed killing two people. The contractor, Gammon India, was charged with negligence. On July 12, 2009 a flyover that was being built in South Delhi collapsed killing six people. The contractor, Gammon India, was held responsible for the accident, and was banned from [...]
Here’s why many of us suffered slow internet connections yesterday: Vandals had severed Reliance’s fiber optic cables somewhere between Siliguri and Jaigon. The damaged cables are being replaced, and Reliance has assured Bhutan Telecom that their connections will be restored within an hour. Bhutan Telecom’s total bandwith is currently 110 Mbps. Of this 90 Mpbs [...]
“Guest”, a frequent commentator, left the following note in my last entry: Please pardon me but I am going to deviate from the topic to register my unhappiness at your support for DHI during the discussions in the Parliament. I cannot believe that a man of your intelligence truly meant what you said. I do [...]
During Question Hour today, I asked the Minister for Economic Affairs: Newspapers recently reported that 100% foreign ownership of hotels is allowed for foreign direct investments above US$ 200,000. Please explain why the minimum is fixed at US$ 200,000. I was basically concerned that the minimum investment required to qualify for 100% foreign ownership of [...]
Ever so often, a reader will leave a comment that is much more powerful and important than the original entry. I am delighted every time that happens. Someone called “Invisible” left such a comment to my last entry, “Farmhouse lunch.” The comment is insightful, thought provoking, and inspiring. So, if you haven’t already read Invisible’s [...]
We had lunch today at Aum Sonam’s house. Aum Sonam, who was a member of the last National Assembly before the introduction of parliamentary democracy, served us a sumptuous meal of kharang, sikam, aima datsi, mushrooms, farm eggs, cottage cheese and papaya. I enjoyed Aum Sonam’s cooking thoroughly. It was clean, wholesome and traditional. So [...]
The other day Kuensel reported that: Bhutan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slumped to one of its lowest at 5 percent in 2008 despite the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s target of achieving a 9 percent growth rate annually. To this Dr Saamdu Chetri, the head of good governance section in the cabinet secretariat and DPT party [...]
Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.
Is ACC taking too long to start investigating the Gyelpozhing land case?
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