Education city...

Today, yet another concerned person asked me about the education city. And he too wanted to hear my views on the 1 billion dollar project.

Some of you may have seen my views in Tenzing Lamsang’s story. But, it appears that many others haven’t. So, with the permission of Business Bhutan, I’m reproducing their entire story….

Billion $ education city under scanner

US$ 500m foreign exchange a year and around 30 international universities on 1,000 acres: this is what the prime minister’s pet project, the planned education city, aims.

If MediaGlobal, a United Nations-based news agency, is to be believed, the ground breaking ceremony for the city is just a year away.

“While anchor universities should start operating initially, it is likely to be 10 years for the entire city to be in place gradually,” MediaGlobal quoted Kushal Sengupta of Infinity InfoTech Parks, the agency that is proposing to implement the project at a site yet to be identified.

But critics of the project say the manner in which the country’s biggest foreign investment plan is being pursued is not proper.

Opposition Leader Tshering Tobgay said that he is ‘very concerned’ about the project by its lack of transparency. Read the rest of this entry »

Registering CSOs...

Commenting on my last post, several readers reiterated that the Tarayana Foundation is doing some wonderful work. I agree.

But did you know that Tarayana Foundation, established seven years ago, is not a registered CSO? Similarly, the Youth Development Fund, established 11 years ago, and RSPN, established 24 years ago, are not registered CSOs.

We know that Tarayana, YDF and RSPN are doing a good job alleviating rural poverty, developing our youth and protecting our natural heritage respectively. They’ve proven it. We also know that many other NGOs have made significant contributions to the development of our country and people.

So I was surprised to read that the CSO Authority has awarded the CSO status to only four organizations: RENEW, Loden Foundation, Centre for Media and Democracy and Bhutanese Association of Women Entrepreneurs (BAOWE).

RENEW is doing a lot of good work empowering our women. So it’s good to see that they’ve been recognized as a registered CSO. And though the Loden Foundation is relatively new, they’ve been quite active.

The Centre for Media and Democracy, established two years ago, sounds promising. And they’ve already conducted several seminars and workshops. Still, I’m not sure how they would qualify for official registration if the likes of Tarayana, YDF and RSPN are left out.

And then there’s BAOWE. They’re also a registered CSO. But who is BAOWE? When were they established? And what have they done to merit recognition ahead of Tarayana, YDF and RSPN.

Fighting poverty...

Very low income housing

A popular attraction at the recent Tarayana Fair was the Lhop house. The house, which barely measures 8 feet by 9 feet, had belonged to Ap Pen Tshering, and in it, he and his wife, Aum Gagay Lham, had raised their four children.

75 year-old Pen Tshering’s house had been dismantled and transported to Thimphu, where it was carefully reassembled to showcase the lifestyle of the Lhops, Bhutan’s first inhabitants. And Pen Tshering had been more than happy to abandon his house. After all, he had no need for it.

Ap Pen Tshering, you see, had built a bigger, better and stronger house – one that has four rooms, a separate kitchen and a CGI roof. He’d built his new house with help from Tarayana Foundation.

But his is not the only house that Tarayana has built in Lotukuchu, easily the poorest and the most neglected part of our country. In fact, Tarayana has helped almost every household in the three villages that make up Lotukuchu build better homes. At last count, 73 families have already moved into new dwellings. And houses for the remaining 10-odd families are already being constructed.

And it’s not just housing. Tarayana has helped the Lhops – in Lotukuchu and elsewhere – acquire the resources and skills needed to increase farm productivity and improve income generation. That’s why today’s Lhops are no longer living in abject poverty, completely cut off from the rest of the country. Today’s Lhops boast decent housing, piped water, proper sanitation, an oil expeller, a maize grinder, a cornflake making machine, a power tiller, a traditional paper factory, and a cooperative shop.

And it’s not just in Lotukuchu. Since its establishment, seven years ago, Tarayana has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of our poorest people – simple subsistence farmers who live in some of the remotest corners of Bhutan. Before Tarayana, very few officials had visited them. And no one cared about them. They had been forgotten.

Not any longer. Today, Tarayana is intimately involved in 36 villages across 5 dzongkhags reducing poverty levels, improving the quality of lives, and giving hope to entire communities.

How do they do it? Raw determination. And the support of donors, volunteers and well-wishers. But also by making every ngultrum count.

It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication to transform the lives of our Lhops. But Tarayana’s war against poverty in Lotukuchu cost them only US$ 100,000. That’s about the price of a new Toyota Prado. And that’s nothing short of miraculous.

Imagine what we could have done with US$ 9.2 million!

Update on fifth session...

The National Assembly’s draft agenda for the fifth session of the Parliament was distributed yesterday. The Assembly will discuss the Water Bill, Financial Services Bill, Disaster Management Bill, and the Annual Budget 2010-2011.

The joint sitting of the Parliament will meet to discuss and endorse the Tobacco Control Bill, RMA (Ammendment) Bill, Standards Bill, and Service Conditions Bill for Constitutional Offices. In addition, the prime minister will report on the State of the Nation.

Please keep sharing your comments on these bills. And, don’t forget to check the National Assembly’s website periodically to see if new bills have been uploaded.

Parliament’s fifth session...

The National Assembly has announced that the fifth session of the Parliament will begin on 28^th May. That’s in about three weeks.

But, I still don’t know what will be discussed. And I still haven’t received the bills, if any, that will be introduced in the fifth session. So I’m at a loss about how to prepare for the Parliament’s imminent session.

It appears that the government has recently submitted four bills to the National Assembly. They are the Childcare and Protection Bill; the Child Adoption Bill; Water Bill; and the Financial Services Bill. The first three are on the National Assembly’s website.

I’m assuming that these bills will be introduced in the National Assembly’s fifth session. So please send me your comments.

Sonam’s question...

Will the colour run?

Last month, Sonam Ongmo, who blogs and tweets from New York, asked her readers:

have a Q 4 Bhutanese. What happens to orange scarf 4 elected ministers after they leave office?

This is a pertinent question. And we should discuss it. So send me your comments. And take the poll.

Successful SAARC...

The Sixteenth SAARC summit is over. And, by all accounts, the event was a grand success. So compliments are in order.

I offer my congratulations to the prime minister, the officiating foreign minister and the government; civil servants (all of them, but especially those in the foreign ministry); RBP, RBA and RBG; the Thimphu City Corporation; teachers and students; volunteers; and the clergy. Special thanks are due to the Government of India for their generous support.

The banner, showcasing the eight SAARC leaders, was sent in by Lhendup Dorji, an official photographer with Business Bhutan. The gallery has a few more of his photographs of the SAARC summit.

River potential...

alternate hydro power

National Geographic has rated rafting on the Drangme Chhu – from the Trashigang Bridge to the Royal Manas Park – as one of the 25 Best New Trips for 2010.

But it’s not just the Drangme Chhu. Every one of our major river systems provides some of the world’s best rafting experiences. Dave Allardice of Ultimate Descents says that our rivers are:

A gigantic staircase rising from the Indian border to the high Himalayas of Tibet, the soaring peaks of Bhutan are an untapped treasure house of whitewater. The rivers are powerful and challenging.

And the National Geographic calls them:

A spillway for Himalayan snow and ice that roils into turquoise Class IV and V rapids through sheer granite walls.

So impressed were the editors of National Geographic Traveler magazine that they also included the Drangme Chhu decent as one of the world’s top 50 Tours of a Lifetime.

All this is good news.

But the good news will not last long. In fact, it will barely last two years. By 2012, construction on the 1800 MW Kuri-Gongri hydropower project will begin at the confluence of the Kuri Chhu and the Drangme Chhu. And further upstream, on the Kholong Chuu, construction on a 486 MW project will also commence in 2012.

So if you want to experience what the National Geographic is raving about, head to the Drangme Chhu … before 2012.

Photo credit: Bio Bio Expeditions

Stop press!...

The second Annual Journalism Awards will take place on 3^rd May, coinciding with World Press Day. Good.

But, like last year, the government is organizing the event. Not good.

It is in the media’s interest to decide, without government interference, how to recognize and reward good journalism. And, equally important, who to recognize and reward. So the media should be organizing this important event.

When the government is involved, the awards lose credibility. And the whole process – from defining categories to selecting judges to awarding prizes – will be questioned.

For the sake of a vibrant media, the media should not permit the government to organize the second Annual Journalism Awards. Instead, they should organize the Bhutan Media Foundation to conduct the awards.

If time is the issue, just postpone the event. It does not necessarily have to coincide with World Press Day.

The government, if they so wish, could go ahead, but with other celebrations, to mark World Press Day celebrations.

Druk Stars...

Phurba Chencho

We were totally wrong.

Our poll predicted that Jangchub Choden would win the Druk Star contest. And that she would be followed by Jamphel Yangzom, Phurba Chencho, Sonam Tobgay and Chencho Norbu in that order.

In reality, yesterday, Jamphel Yangzom won the contest. She was crowned Druk Star, was declared the Voice of Drukyul, and drove off in a brand new Maruti Swift. Chencho came in second, followed by Sonam, Phurba and Jangchub.

We were completely off.

I’m happy for Jamphel Yangzom. And I’m happy for the other contestants who made it to the top 5. They’ve worked hard. And they’ve earned the adulation of the whole nation. Congratulations!

But I’m most happy for Phurba Chencho. He’s from Shari, a village of about 50 households in Haa. Before the competition, barely four months ago, he was a full time farmer tending to his cows, and preparing to plant wheat. He’d never been to school. And his singing was limited to impromptu performances during his neighbours’ chokus.

Phurba Chencho says that he’ll continue farming. But that he’ll take his singing a lot more seriously. Very good!

Photo credit: BBSC