National News

…𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝑳𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 76 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏; 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑼𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 By Rinzin Norbu, The first National Blood Lead Level (BLL) Survey in Bhutan has revealed alarming levels of lead exposure among children, with three out of every four children tested displaying blood lead levels that pose significant health risks. Conducted by …

…𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 By Kezang Choden In a significant move to bolster Dzongkha literacy among students, Tsangkha Middle Secondary School, in collaboration with the Tsangkha Gewog in Dagana organized a comprehensive one-day training session on Dzongkha formal letter writing This initiative aims to equip students with essential writing skills necessary for their …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoFor Bhutanese commuters, the journey across Indian highways, especially the stretches from Phuentsholing to Samdrup Jongkhar, has become more challenging and costly. Recently, toll fees have increased significantly, with charges now reaching Nu 700 at each toll gate, adding up to a steep Nu 4,800 …

…𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒎 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 By Kezang ChodenScam cases are on the rise across Bhutan, with more individuals falling victim to a variety of fraudulent schemes, often finding it impossible to recover their lost funds. According to recent data from the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), 124 scam cases have been registered this year, involving a total of Nu 18.2M …

…𝑻𝒂𝒙𝒊 𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑬𝑽 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝑳𝒂𝒈 By Kezang ChodenBhutan’s ambitious drive towards a green transportation system is encountering challenges, as maintenance issues and loan defaults emerge in the country’s Electric Vehicle (EV) taxi program. The initiative, part of the “Bhutan Sustainable Low-Emission Urban Transport System” project funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has aimed …

…𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝑹𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Lhendup WangmoIn a significant effort to enhance rural financial accessibility, the Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP) Secretariat, in collaboration with Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) and the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA), recently conducted a three-day training program to empower Community Centre (CC) Operators. The program aimed to address ongoing …

…𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝑬𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝑶𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝑵𝒖 70,000 𝒊𝒏 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 By Kezang Choden In a significant step towards promoting sustainable agriculture and boosting local incomes, the organic vegetable market in Samtse Town, which opened its doors last month has already proven to be a success. In its first month of operation, the market earned an impressive …

…𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒔 By Kezang Choden The recently inaugurated Potato Trade Facilitation Center in Jangchey, Gangtey Gewog, has revolutionized potato farming for local farmers, significantly enhancing their income and reducing the logistical burdens previously associated with potato sales. Since its opening on July 23, 2024, the center has quickly become a pivotal platform for farmers in the …

By Kezang Choden The campus of Gedu College of Business Studies (GCBS) came alive with the launch of the much-anticipated Innovation Market, also known as the Inno-Market. This dynamic initiative seeks to promote the consumption of local agricultural and livestock products while providing a fertile ground for students, entrepreneurs, and farmers to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurial acumen. The Inno-Market …

…𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒑𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚. By Kezang ChodenNgangla Gewog in Zhemgang Dzongkhag is witnessing substantial infrastructure upgrades as part of efforts to promote tourism and strengthen the local economy. With the installation of modern streetlights in Trong Chiwog, and a large-scale project at the …