Kuensel 26 December 2014

THAT THE PEOPLE SHALL BE INFORMED

F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 6

KUENSEL

Tshering Dorji

The country’s trade deficit

as of October has already

surpassed the 2013 figures

indicating that the trade

imbalance could increase

by the yearend.

Trade deficit decreased

by Nu 3.2B in 2013 com-

pared with 2012, but the

provisional trade statistics

with figures compiled be-

tween January until mid-

October this year reveals a

deficit of Nu 22.9B already.

Last year, the deficit was

Nu 21.42B according to the

Bhutan Trade Statistics.

In 2013 the country

exported goods worth Nu

31.8B against Nu 53.3B spent

on imports. This includes the

electricity trade. In 2012, the

deficit was Nu 24.6B.

Economists attribute

the decline in trade deficit in

2013 to the economic slow

down following the rupee

shortage and various re-

strictions imposed on credit

and import. For instance,

housing and construction

activities almost came to a

halt with the restrictions on

housing loan until Septem-

ber this year.

However, most of the

restrictions, including the

vehicle import, was lifted

and this could contribute

to the deficit. Import sta-

tistics show that while Nu

547M worth of vehicles were

imported in 2013, the figure

has jumped to Nu 724M

until October this year since

the restriction was lifted in

July.

Electricity trade played

a crucial role in narrowing

the deficit. The trade statis-

tics, 2013, show that without

the consideration of elec-

tricity export, the country’s

trade deficit remained at Nu

32.4B.

Bhutan earned Nu

11.2B from electricity export

to India, which narrowed

the deficit from Nu 25.9B to

Nu 14.9B. But the country

has also imported Nu 222M

worth of electricity during

lean seasons, last year.

Pg. 2

Trade deficit cross 2013 level by mid October

Fund raising show» A fund raising event for Bhutan Kidney Foundation begins today from 4pm at the Youth Development Fund hall in Thimphu. The two-day charity show will have singers, bands and students come together to perform and raise funds for the foundation.

DZONGKHAG» Bhutanese shoppers go online| PG.5

DZONGKHAG» Depleting water sources reported in 12 gewogs of Trashigang| PG. 9

IN BRIEF WHAT’S INSIDE

Special escort for teachers on evaluation duty

Smokey:

(Story on Pg. 12)

The trade

statistics, 2013,

show that

without the

consideration

of electricity

export, the

country’s trade

deficit remained

at Nu 32.4B

Yangchen C Rinzin,

Samdrupjongkhar

A special escort provided by the

Indian police to the economic af-

fairs minister was also extended

to more than 100 teachers from

the eastern districts today morn-

ing to ensure that they reached

Phuentsholing on time to report

for evaluation of board examina-

tion papers.

They leave Samdrupjongkhar

at 6am.

The Phuentsholing bound

teachers were stranded for more

than four days in Samdrupkong-

khar when a 36 hours strike was

called on December 24 following

the ethnic violence in Sonitpur

and Kokrajhar in Assam.

According to information pro-

vided to the Royal Bhutan Police

by the Indian police in the adja-

cent border Darranga, a 12 - hour

strike has been declared today by

the AASA and ATTSA.

The strike was called to pro-

test against the killing of “Adivashi

community people” in the recent

Assam Ethnic Violence, which

according to Indian media saw

more than 70 people killed by the

suspected Bodo militants.

The teachers were given

escort after they requested the

minister for assistance to reach

Phuentsholing today to start the

evaluation tomorrow. The min-

ister was returning from his con-

stituency visit.

Pg. 2

Indian police agreed to escort the teachers along with the MoEA minister from Samdrupjongkhar to Phuentsholing

ECONOMY

SECURITY

HOME PAGE 2 KUENSEL | Friday, December 26, 2014

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Dairy produce

Vegetable products

Tobacco and manufactured tobacco

substitute

Textile and textile article

Machineries and mechanical

appliances

Vehicles

Rowing boat

Chemical and allied industrial products

Mineral products

991.3M

2.85B

301,203

470.2M

5.5B

724.1M

2.05M

1.5B

10.6B

2.87M

924M

277.4M

15,000

1.57B

3.63B

Import from India

Bhutan trade statistics (provisional)

January- October 15, 2014 (Figures in Nu)

Export to India

From Pg.1Past trends indicate that

starting October until Feb-

ruary, the country would

experience a lean hydro-

power season urging the

country to import power

from India. Provided that

this year’s trade statistics

include figure until Octo-

ber, the export are not likely

to sprout substantially.

On the other hand, the

country has spent Nu 8.1B

in importing petroleum

products, last year. This

means that every month

Nu 0.67M is spent on fuel

and in the remaining two

and half months this year,

it would amount to at least

Nu 1.7M roughly.

Experts point out that

the energy balance of trade

is likely to experience a nar-

row margin of surplus.

Meanwhile, import of

vegetable products from

India, last year stood at Nu

3.2 B while export was just

Nu 976M. This year, until

mid-October, vegetable im-

port from India decreased

to Nu 2.85B while export

hovered around Nu 924M.

While Bhutan’s import

from China was about Nu

1B, its exports to China was

recorded at Nu 1.5M.

Similarly, imports from

Thailand also stood at Nu

1B with just Nu 28M worth

of export.

Bangladesh has always

been a country with which

Bhutan has surplus trade

balance. Last year, Bhutan’s

import from Bangladesh

stood at around Nu 161M

whereas exports was about

Nu 1.4B. Bangladesh is Bhu-

tan’s top importer besides

India.

Trade deficit cross 2013 level by mid October

(Waste and scrap of primary cells, etc.)

Source: MoF

From Pg.1Tashitse high school’s

vice principal Sonam Jigme

said they learned that the

strike would be lifted by

Thursday evening but that

didn’t happen.

“We had decided that if

special escort was not pos-

sible then we would take the

National Highway,” he said.

“But we are now happy that

we would reach on time be-

cause of the assistance from

the dzongda, Indian Embassy

and the minister.”

Another teacher, Yeshi

Dorji from Rangjung High

School said they had earlier

requested Samdrupjongkhar

police if they could provide

special escort to ensure they

reached Phuentsholing on

time.

“They tried their best to

help but it was out of their

jurisdiction,” he said. “There

is a need for special escort

during emergencies from the

government in future.”

Samdrupjongkhar dzong-

da Gholing Tshering said the

escort was only for those trav-

elling to Phuentsholing. The

gate would remain close for

those bound for Nganglam,

Gelephu and Jomotsangkha.

“The escort is only for

the minister and after sev-

eral requests, teachers were

also accommodated with the

minister,” dzongda said. “But

there will be no special escort

for other travellers and will

have to wait until they call off

the strike.”

More than 90 vehicles

had to return from Samdrup-

jongkhar border gate when

the gate was closed after the

strike.

With such continuous

strikes, many residents in

Nganglam and Jomotsangkha

said, this is a call for a Na-

tional Highway and that the

government should be proac-

tive to have its own road.

There are no alternative

routes for the two dungkhags,

although, Nganglam is con-

nected with a feeder road in

Pemagatshel, which accord-

ing to the people isn’t pliable

for small vehicles.

Many residents including

officials, gups and tshogpas

from Nganglam, who had

returned from Pemagatshel

after attending His Majesty’s

recent visit, are stranded in

Samdrupjongkhar for the last

three days.

The strike ends at 5pm

today.

Special escort for teachers...

Closed: The Samdrupjongkhar border gate

Friday, December 26, 2014 | KUENSEL

HOME PAGE 3

Kinga Dema and Dechen

Tshomo

Contrary to the Bhutanese

tourism industry’s value for

more number of nights a

tourist spends in the country,

the focus should be on their

spending pattern instead to

judge the tourism sector’s

performance.

This is how Singaporean

tourism expert Barkathun

Nisha highlighted the impor-

tance of revenue from tourism

at the tour operators’ induc-

tion program yesterday in

Thimphu.

Barkathun Nisha said

tour operators shouldn’t

worry about the duration but

make visitors spend. “Give

them the experience so that

visitors are willing to spend by

providing value for money,”

she told tour operators.

Since Bhutan charges a

daily minimum tariff to tour-

ists, the revenue is calculated

based on the number of

nights a tourist spends in the

country.

“Bhutan is a brand in it-

self, not just a country,” Bar-

kathun Nisha said, adding

which is why tour operators

should take advantage of it by

selling it as a premium desti-

nation and not fighting for a

few dollars less.

She urged tour opera-

tors not to undercut but to

increase the cost by creating

a premium for a wonderful

experience in Bhutan.

Citing examples of Sin-

gapore and Malaysia, Bar-

kathun Nisha said a tourist

spends about 2.5 nights, on

an average, in Singapore and

about seven to nine nights in

Malaysia. However, in terms

of revenue from tourism,

Singapore earns about USD

24M annually from some 15M

visitors while Malaysia earns,

about USD 30B from about

25M visitors.

“Tourists spend three

times more in Singapore than

in Malaysia although they stay

for a shorter duration,” she

said.

The three-day tour op-

erators’ induction program,

organised by the Tourism

Council of Bhutan (TCB),

also focuses on quality serv-

ices, tourism marketing and

way forward besides innova-

tive package development.

TCB officials said the

program was organised

following feedback from

stakeholders in the wake of

increasing tour operators,

tourist arrivals and global

competition.

Speaking about the dif-

ferent types of travellers in

the world, Barkathun Nisha

also emphasised the need to

target each source market by

understanding the traveller’s

psyche. Young professionals,

also known as the millennial,

rising millionaires, unstop-

pable elders, and people who

are interested in creative, cu-

linary, holistic wellness and

green tourism were some of

them.

Reaching out to the

younger generation who

earns to spend, known as

the millennials, comprising

young professionals who earn

a lot by their mid twenties, she

said was equally important

as targeting the elderly who

travel for leisure.

Tour operators were also

briefed on developing attrac-

tive tourist packages and the

importance of creating loyal

clients by providing excel-

lent quality experiences and

superior value for money by

ensuring that all aspects of

visitor experience are well

coordinated.

Barkathun Nisha told

tour operators that global

records show that despite

increasing wealth in China

and other Asian countries,

travellers from US, Japan

and Europe will continue to

dominate luxury travel space

through 2020.

“Records also show a ris-

ing number of millionaires

in India, China, Indonesia

and Singapore which Bhu-

tanese tour operators must

bear in mind,” she said.

Of the 116,209 tourists

who visited Bhutan last year,

about 52,783 were interna-

tional tourists, records with

TCB show. The tourism in-

dustry recorded gross earn-

ings of USD 63.5M last year

from USD 62.8M in 2012.

The average length of

stay of international visi-

tors last year, according to

TCB, stood at 6.85 days, a

slight decrease from 2012

that recorded 6.90 days. The

decline was attributed to the

increase in arrivals from top

Asian markets that visit for

shorter durations.

However, European

markets continued to have

longer average stays be-

tween nine to 11 days.

Among the international

market, Americans beat the

Japanese to reemerge as the

top market with 6,927 visi-

tors compared to 4,015 Japa-

nese last year. For the first

time, China emerged as the

second top market clocking

4,764 visitors. The country,

however, recorded a drop in

arrivals from European mar-

kets such as Germany, UK,

and France by about four,

seven, and 15 percent.

Value tourist’s spending pattern, not duration of stay

About 50 of the 1,300 tour operators are attending the induction program

TOURISM

Tour operators should sell Bhutan as a premium destination instead of undercutting

“Bhutan is a brand in itself,

not just a country,”

Barkathun Nisha

PAGE 4

PERSPECTIVESKUENSEL | Friday, December 26, 2014

MANAGING DIRECTOR - Bachu Phub Dorji, MANAGING EDITOR - Ugyen Penjor, DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR - Thinley Dorji, CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER - Karma Dupchu, PRINTING GM - Karma Nima, CIRCULATION MANAGER - Ugyen Norbu, KANGLUNG REGIONAL MANAGER - Ugyen Wangdi

Send your letters and pictures to

[email protected]

Letters will be edited for space and clarity

MY COUNTRY, MY TOWN A fiery issue

Thimphu witnessed its first major forest fire

yesterday when a fire that started opposite

Bap lhakhang, on the outskirts of the city,

spread over the Kuenselphodrang within

hours. Fortunately, the fire fighting team

brought it under control before it caused a massive damage

and spread towards the city.

Those of us watching the smoke engulf the city skyline

got a fright. With the strong afternoon wind fanning it, the

fire could have gone anywhere. It did spread towards and

threatened the Buddha statue. The efforts of the foresters,

the armed force, desuups and other volunteers prevented

it.

But this is only a temporary relief. Thimphu, like many

other dzongkhags is dry making it prone to forest fire. The

thick and dry undergrowth provides the perfect ground

for a massive fire that is very common in winter around

the country. In some dzongkhags forest fire have burnt

houses, even claimed lives besides damaging community

infrastructure like irrigation facility.

If it is difficult to contain forest fire that leaves a huge

toll on the forest cover, it is more challenging to prevent

it. The agriculture ministry has tried almost everything –

from levying hefty fines to appointing mesups (sentinel)

to creating awareness. Recognising education as the best

approach, the ministry spends hundreds of thousands of

ngultrums on advertisement and campaigns. Yet, forest fire

is a common sight every winter across the country.

Interestingly, the fires are usually caused by the same

predictable factors like burning debris or children playing

with matches besides natural causes like lightning in the

south. Other common causes are picnickers and campers

not extinguishing fire after they leave the spot.

The winter has just started and for the next three to four

months, we will see smoke rising from the hills. And it is

not only forest fires. Our neighbourhood, especially in an

urban setting is at a bigger risk from fire. Despite stringent

rules, hutments and temporary settlements are abundant

in the city. These settlements are the ones that usually

suffer from fires. One day it will make us rue our decisions

of not being able to relocate them.

In case of a fire or a forest fire reaching settlement,

the devastation would be worse. The once lush paddy

fields have turned into congested settlements. The city’s

population has increased by manifolds and activities are

numerous. Besides the fire fighting force with the police,

there are not many plans to consider the risk of fire. The

outskirt of the city is a thick dry forest.

Preventing fires, both natural or man made, should

be a collective responsibility. It is the best approach and

could start from homes. Most fires in the vicinity of the city

are caused by negligence or irresponsibility. Quite often it

is attributed to children playing with matchboxes, like in

yesterday’s fire.

Meanwhile, as the city expands and settlement mush-

rooms, thereat from fires deserves better attention. Per-

haps, it is time to draft a fire Act. From experience, harping

on the need of basic common sense and awareness has

not helped much.

MY SAY

Idea: Who needs a microwave oven when the heater can warm you and your cakePhoto by Janga Bdr RDC.

Importance of choekey and its essence

Sir,

This is with regard to the

Kuensel article, ‘Bhutanese

learn choekey…from a Japa-

nese’ of the December 3 issue.

It is my great honor and I

am thankful to the Japanese

professor for providing free

choekey classes in Bhutan.

At the same time, it’s embar-

rassing that most Bhutanese

are not interested in learning

choekey from which our na-

tional language originated.

I can see where choekey

stands in future. Our children

will even drop this subject if

they have an option. Gradu-

ally lesser youth will learn it.

I know my father and great

grand fathers were lucky

enough to have got the op-

portunity to learn choekey

and basis of Dzongkha such

as ngagdren and sumtag

module. Today, only few good

teachers know choekey and

teach us in school as part of

the new curriculum in Dzong-

kha.

I hope government is

looking into the matter and

I also feel our parents at

home need to realize the

importance of choekey and its

essence.

I fear that in the coming

years we might even have to

take special free or paid class-

es from foreigners to learn

our own language. Many

more impacts are foreseen

and it could be more than

what meets the eyes!

A concerned citizen

DZONGKHAGPAGE 5Friday, December 26, 2014 | KUENSEL

Dawa Gyelmo, Haa

With broken pavements and

water leaking at several parts

of the pothole-ridden road,

driving around Haa town has

become a frustrating task for

residents and commuters.

Despite being a small town,

the town never had a good road

and the one it has become

today with poodles and pot-

holes cries for maintenance.

“With no proper street-

lights, it has become risky to

walk around the town at night,”

a Haa resident said.

Residents complained that

the existing town where most

of the residents stay doesn’t

have a proper street lighting

while the area where the new

town was planned remains

well lit despite there being no

housing.

Haa dzongda Sonam

Wangdi said several portions

of the 1.5kms internal road of

the town were in need of main-

tenance and to be resurfaced,

for which the works have been

contracted out.

Officials said the works

however came to a halt due to

Haa’s harsh winter. But works

would resume once the cold

season is over. They said the

water leakages on the road

were due to the broken pipe-

lines that were fitted beneath

the road.

During the time of road

construction, the contrac-

tors without maintaining the

pipelines underneath the road

went ahead with the road con-

struction, because of which the

problem has become persist-

ent, officials said.

Dzongda Sonam Wangdi

said the dzongkhag is planning

to dig up the pipelines and

maintain the leakages when

the weather turns warm.

The road connecting IM-

TRAT to Wangcha would be

maintained through the Katsha

gewog’s gewog development

grant of Nu 2M, next year.

Dzongkhag officials also

said that while there are no

plans to widen any of the two

highways connecting the dis-

trict, its main highway of 72kms

through Chunzom would soon

get repaired by project DAN

TAK.

Meanwhile, officials said

that the town’s street light-

ing was repaired last year by

spending about Nu 500,000.

Today, most stand broken, just

as the public toilets located at

the Sunday market area.

Following such cases,

the dozngkhag administra-

tion started giving announce-

ments on a local cable asking

residents to report if they see

anyone breaking or damaging

public properties.

Rajesh Rai, Phuentsholing

With less than a week left for

the New Year, a Phuentshol-

ing resident, Tshewang has

already started to prepare

for the day.

She has bought a new

dress for the occasion. But

what’s different this time is

the mode of shopping. The

dress was ordered from an

online shopping site.

“I ordered it about a

week ago,” the corporate

worker, who is also a regular

online shopper, said.

Some five months since a

courier company, Blue Dart

in Jaigaon started to deliver

goods ordered online, the

shopping system has got

the attention of every Bhuta-

nese in Phuentsholing town

today.

Every evening after 5,

the Bhutanese start crowd-

ing at a small store in one of

the lanes of NS Road. From

kitchen utensils to furniture,

it has become a trend for

Phuentsholing residents to

shop online.

A businessman, Vishwa-

deep said online shopping is

a growing trend.

“I also bought online,”

he said, adding that the last

order he made was a sun-

glass.

Today people are also

buying winter clothes and

while many are buying any

types of products online,

there are also a few who only

buy goods that are not avail-

able in both Phuentsholing

Winter chills Haa’s road maintenance works

Bhutanese shoppers go online

Waiting: Residents from both Phuentsholing and Jaigaon at the online product delivery center

ROAD

PURCHASE

Bhutanese orders make up almost 60 percent of the daily shipment

and Jaigaon.

Despite searching every

shop in the two bordering

towns, Norbu Gyeltshen

said he couldn’t find a gui-

tar tutorial. “A friend of mine

suggested to try online,” he

said. “I found it instantly and

made the order.”

Officials with the Blue

Dart said the online market

has been increasing every-

day. Its owner, Bikash Chhetri

said they receive about 700

shipments a day.

“About 60 percent are

Bhutanese orders,” he said,

mentioning that Blue Dart

didn’t take commission for

deliveries. “Transportation is

free of cost.”

Since the online deliver-

ies are not made in Phuent-

sholing, Bhutanese buyers

give the address of the Blue

Dart, where their orders are

received. The Blue Dart staff

then call and inform the Bhu-

tanese buyers.

Bikash Chhetri said

most Bhutanese order on-

line because they could buy

products not available in the

towns. Discount offers and

cheaper price tags are other

reasons. “Including Thim-

phu, we have customers from

as far as Bumthang,” Bikash

Chhetri said.

Although online shop-

ping has attracted a fast-in-

creasing market with the resi-

dents of Phuentsholing, there

are also instances where

shoppers were left helpless

at the delivery counter.

Many buyers told Kuensel

that they didn’t get the prod-

ucts they had ordered online.

There were also cases where

packages were replaced with

duplicate or dummy items,

instead of the original or-

dered online. Also, not every-

one is happy with the quality

of the products bought.

A teacher in Paro recently

bought an electric blanket for

Rs 1,199.

“It is useless and I gave

a bad feedback online,” she

said.

PAGE 6

In the wake of deadly attacks in

Assam by the outlawed NDFB(S)

militants, the government is be-

lieved to have ordered an all-out

action against the militant group.

As per highly-placed sourc-

es, Union Home Minister Ra-

jnath Singh – who is in Assam

to take stock of the situation on

a day when the toll in militant

attacks and subsequent violence

rose to 78 – has issued a ‘discreet

order’ to security agencies to

eliminate the top leadership

of anti-talk Songbijit faction of

the National Democratic Front

of Bodoland (NDFB) in two

months.

Sources say the government

is of the view that such orders

should have been issued by the

Assam government long ago

when intelligence inputs had

been received about possible

NDFB(S) attacks in the state.

According to sources, a

series of intelligence inputs on

possible militant strikes were

passed on to the Assam govern-

ment between September and

December. However, the state

government failed to act on the

inputs.

The development came

hours after Rajnath said in a

tough message that strong action

will be taken against NDFB(S),

asserting that the Centre has

“zero tolerance” policy for such

“crafted terror”.

“We will take strong meas-

ures to deal with the outfit and

will control it effectively,” he told

reporters at Biswanath Chariali

in Sonitpur district during his

visit to review the situation in the

state, which has been rocked by

the bloodbath by Bodo militants

and retaliatory violence by Adi-

vasis.

Asked about operations

against the outfit, the minister

said, “Operations will definitely

be launched against the outfit

but cannot say when”.

Militants killed a total of 71

people -- 43 in Sonitpur, 25 in

Kokrajhar and three in Chirang

district in the Tuesday massacre.

In retaliatory attacks by adivasis,

four Bodos were killed while

three adivasis were killed alleg-

edly in police firing on violent

protesters.

zeenews.india.com

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Announcement:

Norling laundry is

changing its management

w.e.f January 1, 2015.

Therefore, all our

customers are requested

to collect your laundries

within fifteen days from

today. Failure to which, we

will not be responsible for

any inconvenience caused.

CLASSIFIED

*Prices as of yesterday

(In Nu)Dzongkhag Diesel Petrol Kerosene LPG

Thimphu (DPCL) 53.14 61.72 15.35 491

P/Ling (Damchen) 51.45 59.79 13.86 456

Fuel Prices

DrukAirDate Route Flight No. Departure ArrivalDecember 27 Bangkok to Paro via Gaya KB 123 07:20 am 11:00 am December 27 Paro to Bangkok via Bagdogra KB 130 11:40 am 04:35 pmDecember 27 Paro to Bangkok KB 150 03:40 pm 07:40 pmDecember 27 Paro to Singapore via Kolkata KB 500 07:20 am 03:40 pmDecember 27 Paro to Delhi KB 204 09:10 am 11:00 amDecember 27 Delhi to Paro KB 205 12:00 pm 02:50 pmDecember 27 Paro to Kathmandu KB 400 07:40 am 08:45 amDecember 27 Kathmandu to Paro KB 401 09:25 am 11:00 am

DomesticDecember 27 Paro to Bumthang KB 1001 11:30 am 12:05 pmDecember 27 Bumthang to Paro KB 1002 12:30 pm 01:05 pm

Bhutan Airlines (Tashi Air)December 27 Bangkok to Paro via Kolkata B3701 06:30 am 09:55 amDecember 27 Paro to Bangkok via Kolkata B3700 10:45 am 04:15 pm

Note : All timings in local. Timings are subject to change. Call Drukair toll free No. 1300 for latest flight information.

FLIGHTS

Note : All timings in local. Timings are subject to change. Call Bhutan Airlines toll free No. 1234 for latest flight information.

Assam govt ignored intel inputs on NDFB(S) attacks

Tribal women throw flowers on the funeral pyre during mass cremation in Tinsuti village in Sonitpur district of Assam

daffynition

ecotip

riddlemeree

todayinhistory

quotefortheday

happybirthday

featheredfriend

1Q4u

infobyte

beaupeep

Sudoku

last word

“That was a great game of golf, fellers.” BING Crosby 190377

How to play

Fill in the grid

so that every

row, every

column, and

every 3 X 3

box contains

the numbers 1

through 9.

LAST SOLUTION

DIVERSIONFriday, December 26, 2014 | KUENSEL PAGE 7

Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby, Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby’s trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O’Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way.

diatonic [Music]

liquid poison

The Big AppleMEANING Nickname for New York, USA

ORIGIN John J Fitz Gerald, a horse-racing writer for the New York Morning Telegraph in the '20s, used the phrase with reference to NYC in his ‘Around the Big Apple’, piece on February 18, 1924.

the emotional riddle

q: I can bring tears to your eyes;

resurrect the dead, make you smile, and

reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a life time. What am I?

a: A memory!

1865

James H Mason (Massachusetts)

patents first US coffee percolator.

LARS

Ulrich

1963

Metallica Drummer

“The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.”

Nikolai Gogol 1809-52

Gould’s

Sunbird

(Aethopyga

gouldiae)Found in the

subcontinent's

northeast, China

and the Far East

Go Green

makeover leftover - eggs

Scramble a few with some cooked rice and second-act shrimp, and you don’t have to leave home for Chinese takeout.

Which is heavier: hot or cold water?

Both. According to

Einstein’s theory, how is

heavier. As per CW it’s cold.

KUENSELTO ADVERTISE

call 326191 orfax 326638;

email: [email protected]

TO SUBSCRIBEcall 327463

FOR NEWS call324684/322483

NU. PER UNITS OF FOREIGN CURRENCY

as of yesterday

NOTES

Buy Sell

US $ 62.45 64.50

POUND 97.10 99.80

EURO 76.15 78.30

YEN (100) 51.85 53.30

HK $ 8.05 8.25

AUS $ 50.70 52.05

SING $ 47.15 48.50

Courtesy BNB

KUENSEL | Friday, December 26, 2014

WORLDPAGE 8

TO ADVERTISE IN KUENSEL: Call 326191 or fax 326638; or email us at

[email protected]; TO SUBSCRIBE: call 327463.

Cash grab in Hong Kong as millions in banknotes spill from security vanLast minute shoppers in

Hong Kong were treated to

a Christmas Eve cash grab

Wednesday when nearly $2

million spilled from a money

transport van into the street.

Passing motorists and

pedestrians were caught on

camera helping themselves

to banknotes scattered in

Gloucester Road in the city’s

Wan Chai district at around

lunchtime, before police ar-

rived to secure the loot and

disperse the opportunists.

Three cash boxes had

fallen from the van, result-

ing in the loss of an estimated

15.23 million Hong Kong dol-

lars (nearly $2 million U.S.),

a police said Thursday, warn-

ing that anyone who took the

notes faced theft charges.

What happened next is

surprising.

By Thursday afternoon,

police said, nearly half a

million of the missing ban-

knotes -- HKD $3.6 million,

or $464,000 -- had been re-

turned to authorities.

Thirteen people -- 10

men and three women -- had

voluntarily handed over the

money. They would likely

face no charges, police said.

The security company

that operates the cash trans-

port van, G4S, told CNN it

had no comment on the in-

cident. Local media reported

that a faulty van door was

blamed for the spill.

CNN

If you curl up under the duvet

with an e-book for a bedtime

read then you are damag-

ing your sleep and maybe

your health, US doctors have

warned.

A team from Harvard

Medical School compared

reading paper books and

light-emitting e-readers be-

fore sleep.

They found it took longer

to nod off with a back-lit e-

reader, which led to poorer

quality sleep and being more

tired the next morning.

Original Kindle readers

do not emit light so should

be fine, say experts.

Experts said people

should minimise light-expo-

sure in the evening.

Whether you are perusing

the Man Booker shortlist or

leafing through Zoella, the

impact of reading on your

sleep is probably the last

thing on your mind.

But there has been grow-

ing concern about the dan-

gers of light before bedtime.

Our bodies are kept in

tune with the rhythm of day

and night by an internal body

clock, which uses light to tell

the time.

But blue light, the wave-

length common in smart-

phones, tablets and LED

lighting, is able to disrupt the

body clock.

Blue light in the evening

can slow or prevent the pro-

duction of the sleep hormone

melatonin.

Twelve people were

locked in a sleep laboratory

for two weeks.

They spent five days read-

ing from a paperback and five

days from an iPad.

Regular blood samples

showed the production of

the sleep hormone melatonin

was reduced by reading an e-

book.

People also took longer

to fall asleep, had less deep

sleep and were more tired the

next morning.

The researchers said other

e-readers such as the Nook

and Kindle Fire produced

similar wavelengths of light

and would have the same

impact.

The findings were pub-

lished in the journal Proceed-

ings of the National Academy

of Sciences.

Lead researcher Prof

Charles Czeisler said: “The

light emitted by most e-read-

ers is shining directly into the

eyes of the reader, whereas

from a printed book or the

original Kindle, the reader is

only exposed to reflected light

from the pages of the book.”

He said disrupting sleep

in turn affected health.

“Sleep deficiency has

been shown to increase the

risk of cardiovascular disease,

metabolic diseases like obes-

ity and diabetes, and cancer.

“Thus, the melatonin sup-

pression that we saw in this

study among participants

when they were reading from

the light-emitting e-reader

concerns us.”

Dr Victoria Revell, who re-

searches the impact of light

on the body at the University

of Surrey, said: “This is a very

good study and I think it’s re-

ally interesting.

“We should be advising

people to minimise their

[light-emitting e-reader] use

in the evening, particularly

teenagers who are a group

that are using their phones

and tablets late in to the

evening.”

Teenagers naturally have a

late body clock, which makes

them slow to rise in the morn-

ing and up late at night.

“People who already have

a delayed body clock are

delaying themselves much

further and that is a very im-

portant message,” Dr Revell

added.

Prof Czeisler agreed, say-

ing there was “special con-

cern” for teenagers who were

already sleep deficient by

being forced to get up early

for school.

BBC

E-books ‘damage sleep and health,’ doctors warn

HEALTH


DZONGKHAGPAGE 9

Tshering Wangdi, Trashigang

Depleting water sources and

absence of concrete solution

in most gewogs of Trashigang

has left farmers worried even

as the dzongkhag administra-

tion is surveying the situation.

Although the gewogs are

trying out various preventive

measures, gups said the situ-

ation only worsened over the

years.

About 12 gewogs have re-

ported drying of water sources

in the villages, records with

the dzongkhag show, with the

highest incidence reported

from Lumang, Bartsham and

Yangnyer gewogs.

Six water sources in

Taktapa in Yangnyer have

completely dried. Villagers

of Changzey, Lungdama and

Demkhar no longer receive

the same volume of water they

used to. Sources at Kangpar

and Bedengphu in Kangpara

gewog have also dried up

completely.

With the water source in

Pam drying up, shortage of

water is a prominent issue in

the community today. Sam-

khar gup Sonam Dorji said

they fenced a water source at

Yenangbrangsa in Bikhar with

barbwires and also planted

trees to prevent it from drying.

“We will soon fence two

other water sources at Bikhar

goenpa and Mebiri,” he said.

Survey on a newly identified

water source for Pam in Bam-

ridrang is also expected to

start soon. “Or else, the issue

of water shortage would only

worsen.”

Without a water source

nearby, Kosphu goenpa vil-

lagers in Lumang gewog walk

A Himalayan Black Bear,

which was trapped in a cable

snare in Zabasa village in in

Kabisa, Punakha was rescued

and released unhurt into the

wild on December 23.

The female bear, which

weighed 88 kgs and is about

five to six years old is the ninth

bear the Wildlife Rescue and

Animal Health Section of the

Wildlife Conservation Divi-

sion has rescued, released and

rehabilitated to date this year.

She was trapped around

2am on December 23 in a

snare that a farmer, Ap Wangdi

had set to protect his calves

and chickens from being

preyed by the bear which had

been frequenting his farm.

Ap Wangdi had informed the

forestry extension office in

Kabisa.

Depleting water sources reported in 12 gewogs of Trashigang

Himalayan Black Bear released

A drying brook at Yangnyer gewog (file photo)

WATER

for almost two hours to fetch

water from a stream. With

the source located below

the village, pipes couldn’t be

connected. Over the years,

the stream started to dry up

along with other sources in the

gewog.

Lumang gup Tandin

Wangchuk said they have

plans to tap water to the vil-

lage all the way from Kharun-

gla. “But it is going to cost

about Nu 0.4M because of

which there hasn’t been much

progress so far,” he said.

Similarly, another water

source at Bepam chiwog in

Udzorong dried up last year.

The gewog has established

four new sources to meet the

water demand in the villages.

“At present, 90 percent of

the gewog have access to water

but drying up of sources still

remains an issue,” Udzorong

gup, Tenzin Tshewang said.

In Bidung, about 10 per-

cent of the fields are left fal-

low for want of water. Water

sources are becoming smaller

despite conservation efforts in

full swing.

“Sources are drying up

naturally which could be due

to the effects of global warm-

ing,“ Bidung gup, Dorji Wang-

chuk said. “In such a scenario,

it won’t take long before vil-

lagers start migrating to other

places.”

Meanwhile, the survey

undertaken by the dzongkhag

is expected to provide infor-

mation on different types of

water sources in Trashigang

and why the sources are drying

up to enable the dzongkhag to

take preventive measures.

“In such a scenario, it

won’t take long before villagers start migrating to other places.”

Dorji Wangchuk

Bidung Gup

Photo and info courtesy - www.moaf.gov.bt


ADVERTISEMENT PAGE 10

ANNOUNCEMENTBHUTAN BASKETBALL FEDERATION, THIMPHU

BBF/AFD/2014/377

Bhutan Basketball Federation will be conducting winter Bhutan Youth Basketball (BYB) at Thimphu and Phuentsholing from January 3, 2015 till January 16, 2015. Therefore interested participants may register for above program.For details contact: Thimphu 17269572 and for Phuentsholing- 17609622 during office hours or log on to bhutanolympiccommittee.org for registration form. General Secretary

NOTICE INVITING TENDERDUNGSAM CEMENT

CORPORATION LIMITEDNganglam

NIT No. DCCL/Procurement/07/2014/3756

DCCL invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the

handling of Gelephu and Phuentsholing Depots.

Bids shall be received in sealed envelopes on or before

3.00 pm on January 7, 2014 and shall be opened on

the same day at 3.30 pm. Tender received after the

deadline for the submission shall be rejected.

Please note that bids will be rejected at the time of

opening if:

1. Integrity pact is not signed by authorized

person and witnesses

2. Bid bonds is not sufficient or not enclosed or

insufficient validity

3. Price schedule is not signed.

Detailed bidding documents can be downloaded from

DCCL website www.dccl.bt

For any enquiry, please contact Procurement Section

(Tel-07-481232)

General Manager, FAD

NOTICE INVITING TENDERPHUENTSHOLING MUNICIPALITY

PT/Envt-2/2014-2015/12073

The Phuentsholing Thromde invites sealed bids from eligible and qualified bidders for

“Procurement of spare pumps and parts” with the engineer’s estimate amount of

Nu. 846,841.00 (Eight hundred forty six thousand eight hundred forty one) only

under the terms and conditions stated in tender document in sample form of NIT.

1. Date of sale of tender : 30/12/2014 to 24/01/2015 (During working hrs.)

2. Last date and time for submission of bids : 24/01/2015 at 13:00 hours

3. Cost of tender document : Nu. 700/- (Seven hundred) only,

non-refundable

4. Date of opening & venue : 24/01/2015 at 1430 hrs. in Phuentsholing

Thromde conference hall.

Further details are in tender document of contact # 05252877/252168.

Executive Secretary

NOTICE INVITING CONSULTANCY SERVICE

BHUTAN INFOCOMM AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

BICMA/PRO/2014-15/1148

The Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority invites

sealed bids from eligible consultancy firm for up

gradation of online licencing System and Design &

Development of the website of this office.

The RFP document can be purchased from the

Authority’s office from December 26, 2014 till

January 26, 2015 during the office hours and shall

be submitted on or before 12 noon of January 27,

2015.

For details please visit www.bicma.gov.bt or visit

the office during office hours.

Director


ADVERTISEMENT PAGE 11

NOTICE INVITING TENDERROYAL UNIVERSITY OF BHUTAN

Jigme Namgyel Polytechnic, DewathangJ.N.Poly/Procurement of Goods/Advertisement/2014/998

Interested and eligible firms are invited to bid for the supply of the following items to

Jigme Namgyel Polytechnic, Dewathang as per the details given below:

Sl.

#

Items for tender Last date & time of

tender submission

Opening date &

time

1 Civil laboratory equipment

February 3, 2015 at

9:00 am

February 3, 2015

at 9:00 am2 Electrical laboratory equipment

3 Mechanical laboratory equipment February 3, 2015

at 11:00 am4 Computers & peripherals

5 IT equipment February 3, 2015

at 1:00 pm6 Furniture

Bidding documents can be purchased from the Procurement Manager at Nu. 500/-

or can be downloaded from JNP website http://www.jnp.edu.bt/ and the cost

of tender document can be paid at the time of submission of bids. The bidding

documents will be available w.e.f December 27, 2014.

All the eligible bidders intending to participate in the above tenders are requested to

register with the institute at the earliest by filling in the form provided in the 1st page

of the bidding documents.

For further information, please contact us at 07-260302/260286.

Director

NOTICE INVITING TENDERMINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTS

Department of Forests & Park ServicesWildlife Conservation Division, Thimphu

WCD/Adm-08/2014/1784

Wildlife Conservation Division (WCD) under the Department of Forests & Park

Services would like to invite sealed bids from the eligible Bhutanese Supplier(s) having

valid trade licence for the supply and delivery of solar electric fencing materials and

general tools.

The tender document can be purchased from the Administration and Finance

Division, MoAF, Thimphu.

Date of sale of tender document : December 25, 2014 to January 25, 2015

Last submission date & time : January 26, 2015 at 1100 hrs.

Date & time of tender opening : January 26, 2015 at 1130 hrs.

Venue for the tender opening : Office of the Chief Forestry Officer,

Wildlife Conservation Division, DoFPS.

The bids addressed to Chief Forestry Office, Wildlife Conservation Division shall be

submitted latest by 11:00 am January 26, 2015. For further enquiry, contact at

+975-325042 (ext. 102)

Chief Forestry Officer

CORRIGENDUM

DZONGKHAG ADMINISTRATION, MONGAR

Mongdzong/Proc-11/2014-2015/2941

Please refer to NIT no. Mongdzong/Proc-

II/2014-2015/2417 dated 26/11/2014 regarding

“construction of conference hall, classroom,

kitchen & dinning hall buildings at Drametse

Dzong, Mongar.” All perspective bidders are

requested to note changes in the ITB 1.1,16.1 & 16.2

ITB 1.1: The name and identification of the

contract is “Construction of conference

hall, classrooms, kitchen & dinning

hall buildings at Drametse Dzong,

Mongar”

ITB 16.1 & 16.2: Bid security amount should be

Nu. 922,000/-

Other terms & conditions remain same.

Dzongda

PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

MINISTRY OF HOME AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS

Bureau of Law and OrderMoHCA/BLO(3)-2/8335

In the wake of the recent cases of extortion and

robbery of Bhutanese citizens in parts of Alipurduar

district, North Bengal, the Ministry of Home and

Cultural Affairs would like to request the general

public to exercise extreme caution while travelling in

the adjoining border areas.

Travellers are advised to take note of the following:

1. Travel in convoy/groups

2. Avoid stoppages en-route

3. Avoid carrying cash and expensive belongings

4. Render assistance to Bhutanese citizens in need of

help while travelling

5. Do not stop in the event of being followed by

suspicious vehicle

6. In the event of distress situations, immediately

contact the Indian police control room number 0091-

3561-225588 for

7. File First Information Report (FIR) immediately

to the nearest Indian police station incase further

investigation is required

orReport the case to the RBP and seek their assistance

to file FIR with Indian Police

8. Keep record of International Mobile Equipment

Identity (IMEI) number of one’s mobile phone to

facilitate investigation. The IMEI number can be

obtained by dialing *#06#

The above advisory is being issued in the

interest of public safety.

Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

ROYAL INSURANCE CORPORATION OF BHUTAN LIMITED, HEAD OFFICE, THIMPHU

No. RICB/GAD/HRD(01)HO/2014/7652

The Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited is pleased to announce a

minimum of 39 vacant posts for various positions.

All interested applicants are requested to visit our website www.ricb.com.bt for

detailed information and other related criteria.

For further details, please contact the Human Resource Officer, Head Office,

Thimphu at 321161 ext. 330 or 351 during office hours. Management

Printed and published by Kuensel Corporation Limited, PO Box 204, Tel: 975-2-322483/324688, Fax: 975-2-322975, www.kuenselonline.com ISSN 0259 1499


HOMEPAGE 12

ZAKAR

TOMORROW’SGood day

laza

Max Min

Source: Meteorology Division, DHMS, MOEA, For any weather information : call hotline 339673

WEATHER

DECEMBER 26, 2014

WWWWW

Picture story: Sixteen potential players were chosen from the winter Taekwondo coaching camp in Phuentsholing to represent Chukha Dzongkhag in the up coming 11th National Taekwondo Championship in Thimphu. In collaboration with the Bhutan Taekwondo Federation and BOC, the Chukha Dzongkhag Taekwondo Association organised the camp to mark the National Day celebrations. It ended yesterday.

MB Subba

Thimphu city was briefly

under a thick blanket of

smoke yesterday when a for-

est fire that started opposite

Bap lhakhang raged on for

hours destroying more than

100 acres of blue pine forest.

About 300 people includ-

ing Desuups, members of

armed forces, forestry officials

and volunteers battled the fire

that burned for about eight

hours, completely gutting

hundreds of spices of shrubs,

rhododendron and chirpine

among others.

According to eyewit-

nesses the fire started around

10.30am near the house,

where the watch woman of

the School for Language and

Cultural Studies at Chang

Debsi lives.

One of the witnesses,

Dema, 59, said a child was

playing with a matchbox out-

side her house, which started

the fire.

“I had gone to see one of

my relatives at the hospital

when the incident occurred,”

she said. “The child’s mother

had also gone out to serve tea

to some people when the fire

started.

Dema said the child’s

mother, who is from

Tongzhang, Trashiyangtsi, is

a single mother.

However, Thimphu

dzongkhag forestry officer

(DFO), Phento Tshering said

the culprit is yet to be identi-

fied. “At this point we cannot

confirm that the child started

the fire,” he said. He said an

appropriate action would be

taken once the investigation

is over.

Phento Tshering said the

fire was in control as of yester-

day evening but officials will

closely monitor the situation.

An Indian national work-

ing at the school said people

from around rushed to con-

tain the fire but with the wind

fueling it, they couldn’t con-

tain it.

Meanwhile, some volun-

teers said they were poorly

equipped to fight the fire.

The forest fire management

section with the agriculture

ministry said farmers do not

have the proper equipment

to battle forest fires. Some

of them had water bags but

most of them fought the fire

either with tree branches or

bare hands.

An official said the envi-

ronmental damage caused

by such fires extends well

beyond the affected areas.

“Damage to biodiversity and

livelihoods may take decades

to reverse.”

Fires rank among the top

causes of damage to Bhutan’s

forests. For instance, there

were 36 incidences of forest

fires in 2010 alone, which

burned more than 9,162.81

acres of forests.

According to official data,

the second most common

cause of forest fire is due to

children playing with fire near

forests. Electric short circuits

also cause forest fires in the

country.

Paro, Thimphu, Puna-

kha, Wangduephodrang,

Lhuentse, Trashigang, and

Bumthang are prone to forest

fires, officials said.

Fire destroys more than 100 acres of forest

Volunteers battle the fire near the school for language and cultural studies where the fire started

A child playing with a matchbox is alleged to have started the fire

FOREST FIRE

“At this point we cannot

confirm that the child

started the fire,”

Phento Tshering, DFO,

Thimphu

Documents

Kuensel 26 December 2014