His Majesty At The Forefront Again

By Phurpa Wangmo

His Majesty The King visited Lunana this week, and granted Lagthram to the 191 households who are receiving Land Kidu in Goenshari, Punakha.

A statement from the Royal Office for Media (ROM) stated that His Majesty The King granted Khimsa land Kidu to people of Lunana in Goenshari, to ensure that they have safe and comfortable winter homes when they travel south.

“The land Kidu for building homes was granted in 2019, after which road and power connections were established. A Desuung National Service Water Project team recently completed work to bring water to the site,” ROM said.

Traditionally, the people of Lunana migrate south with their animals during the winter months, when it gets too difficult to eke out a living in the extremely harsh climate of Lunana. They live in tents or find rented accommodation in Wangdue and Punakha, allowing their animals to graze while they trade and collect rations to take back in spring.

“Increasingly, it had become difficult to find a place to stay, and for our animals to graze when we are in the south. His Majesty granted Khimsa land to all the households of Lunana so that we can continue our traditional way of life moving between Lunana and the south without having to worry about where we would live in winter. The people of Lunana are looking forward to start building our winter homes in the land granted by His Majesty this year,” said Lunana Gup Kaka.

His Majesty granted tokha to the people of Lunana in Toenchoe, and spoke to them about their experiences with the pandemic and the vaccination programme. His Majesty also offered prayers at the Pelden Lhamoi Lhakhang.

Earlier this week, on October 3, His Majesty The King had just arrived back in the capital after a grueling Royal Tour during which His Majesty visited Punakha, Trongsa, Bumthang, Mongar, Tashiyangtse, and Tashigang.

During the Tour, His Majesty visited Desuung National Service Water Projects and Training Centres of the Desuung Skilling Programmes in these dzongkhags, as well as Colleges and Institutes.

Of the 25 National Service Water Projects initiated since November 2020, 14 have been completed and handed over to the beneficiary communities. His Majesty met the team from the first National Service Water Project at Guma, Punakha, which was inaugurated on September 25.

Other ongoing projects that His Majesty visited during the Tour were Tangsibji and Shinyer in Bumthang, Gyalposhing in Mongar, Kheni in Tashiyangtse, and Udzurong in Tashigang.

His Majesty thanked the Desuups for their invaluable service to the nation, which stands to benefit thousands of people across the country. Expressing appreciation for the dedication and hard work of our youth, His Majesty encouraged them to take advantage of the training opportunities created for them through the Desuung Skilling Programme (DSP).

His Majesty visited the ongoing DSP centres in Trongsa, Bumthang, Gyalposhing, and Tashigang. The De-suung Skilling Programme offers a set of multi-level courses by master trainers. These include IT, entrepreneurship, workworking and carpentry, hair and makeup, auto repair, accounting and finance, photography and video, tailoring and fashion, and culinary arts and baking, among numerous others.

His Majesty said that the DSP programmes are for the youth to discover their passion and talent, and asked them to use these opportunities as springboards for their future. Over 1,100 Desuups have joined DSP since the first programmes started in April this year.

His Majesty granted Audiences to the students and faculty of Gyalposhing College of Information and Technology while in Gyalposhing, and the students and faculty of Sherubtse College in Kanglung. His Majesty also met students and faculty of Yonphula Centenary College and the Technical Training Institute- Rangjung. 

To the students, His Majesty said that we must focus not on what we can do, but on what we must do- the only way to stay ahead is to unhesitatingly take up even the toughest challenges.

His Majesty said that Colleges are sacred institutions that should empower and benefit generations of people to come. The infrastructure as well as the education in our institutes of learning must be of the highest standards, enabling our students to excel anywhere in the world, and build the future of our aspirations. While work is ongoing to strengthen colleges towards this vision, His Majesty asked the students to work hard to live up to the high expectations that His Majesty has for them.

Meanwhile, before arriving in Thimphu, His Majesty travelled to Chhukha to meet the Desuups of the 46th Batch Accelerated Desuung Training Programme.