Thimphu’s main roads are fairly good. They are not necessarily beautiful, but, in spite of limited resources, they are, by and large, smooth, wide and well-managed. The smaller roads, however, tell a different story. Many of them are narrow, riddled with pot holes, and have not seen any form of maintenance for years. Naturally, many [...]
Thimphu’s biggest structure is easily the 169 feet Buddha statue in Kuensel Phodrang. Which is its second biggest structure?
I’m in Trongsa. Will visit the Dzong, and meet with sector heads and members of the new local government, before heading to Bumthang. As we approached Wangdiphograng yesterday, I could see the new Bajo town on the other side of the Punatshangchhu. And for the hundredth time, I looked across the river and muttered: UGLY. [...]
Tomorrow, registered voters in Thimphu, Gelephu, Samdrupjongkhar and Phuentsholing will elect their respective thromde tshogdes or city councils. As we discussed in my last post, the Thimphu city council – the new mayor in particular – will have to sort out the capital city’s water problems. But the mayor and his council will also have [...]
Thank you for taking part in “Big picture – 10”. Your responses were varied, and many of them were deliberately funny. Answers ranged from electrical, telephone and TV cables; to branches, roots and stems; to serpents, TMT bars and organizational charts! But most of you knew the answer – yes, the picture showed water pipes, [...]
Residents in the capital will have welcomed the government’s announcement that “A massive clean-up campaign of the town and the river bank will begin shortly involving Thimphu’s residents” in preparation for the SAARC summit next month. Thimphu will look presentable by this time next month. And our visitors will be duly impressed. But we, residents, [...]
Consider this: in rural Bhutan, our people are undernourished, stunting and wasting. Now consider this: in urban Bhutan, our people are overweight and obese. Time to get serious about the equity in the DPT’s Equity and Justice.
Yesterday, the government proposed a motion in the National Assembly to endorse a list of thromdes (urban settlements). Thromdes, along with gewogs and dzongkhags, form our local governments. But the Local Government Bill, which describes different types of thromdes, has not yet fully completed its passage in Parliament as required by Article 13 of the [...]
Another disaster has struck, this time in Haa. Earlier today, a fire raged through the upper market in Haa. Four houses were totally destroyed before the fire was bought under control. Residents suspect that the fire was caused by electrical problems. By mid-afternoon, His Majesty the King was already in Haa. Photo credit: BBS
So our government is thinking about increasing the taxes, duties and other fees levied on vehicles. I suppose that that, in some ways, is inevitable. The number of vehicles plying on our city roads has increased drastically. And it’s already difficult to find proper parking spaces. So, unless something serious is done about it, we [...]
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.
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