Punakha gears for Dechhog Khorlo Dompa

The 10 hotels in Khuruthang town, Punakha, have already been booked for the first public blessing of Dechhog khorlo dompa (Chakrasamvara) that begins on December 20.

“All nine rooms in our hotel has been booked,” manager of Shivling hotel, Tandin, said. “We’re booked for all 15 days of the wang (blessing).”

Given the limited lodging facilities in the dzongkhag, which serves as the winter residence of the central monastic body, because of its warmer climes, devotees have also booked traditional houses near the dzong. “Many devotees will have to pitch tents in Zomlingthang, and on the harvested paddy fields,” Punakha dzongda, Kunzang N Tshering, said.

The construction of the wangkhang (pavilion), where His Holiness the Je Khenpo will preside over the blessings, has begun at Thangzona, a flat area located behind the Punakha dzong, the venue of the royal wedding in October last year.

In front of the pavilion will be a public seating area to accommodate around 30,000 devotees.  The shed will be built with wooden poles and tarpaulin sheets as a roof.  The people of the dzongkhag will contribute poles.

To supplement the existing water supply of the dzong, water from the Mochu will be pumped in, and several water tanks will be borrowed from Punatshangchu projects.

The dzongkhag plans to put in place a number of dustbins to check littering. “Our main worry is sanitation and waste management.” dzongda Kunzang N Tshering said. “Given the mentality, waste could get out of control.”

Shuttle buses will also be provided to pick and drop devotees, mainly to ease congestion.  Devotees can catch the shuttle from Khuruthang, Lekithang and Zomlingthang, all areas close to the dzong.  No private vehicles will be allowed during the wang.

The zhung dratsang’s tshukla lopen, Samten Dorji, said since the Dechhog Khorlo Dompa is the main yedam (tutelary deity) of drukpa kagyu, the wang is sacred. “The blessings will also cover many other yedam deities,” he said.

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan traditional bamboo craft

Kangpara gewog under Trashigang Dzongkhag is seeing a decline in its traditional bamboo craft with craftsmen pursuing better economic opportunities elsewhere. Tsarzo is no longer practiced as a source of livelihood.

A 53-year-old, Ap Dorji Tenzin, from Pasaphu village is one of the few surviving bamboo craftsmen in Kangpara gewog. But unlike in the past, Ap Dorji Tenzin rarely weaves bamboo products now. He now practices Tsarzo as a hobby during free time or when guarding his fields from animals.

“I started weaving bamboo products when I was around 30 years old. I educated my children through Tsarzo and it has been an important source of cash income for me and my family,” Dorji Tenzin reminisces.

Lack of raw materials, according to Ap Dorji Tenzin, is deterring them from keeping the tradition alive. “We have to travel to far off places to get the raw materials. It is a lot of hard work.”

Developmental activities, like farm road construction in the gewog, are also affecting the tradition.

Tshogpa Sangay Wangdi says the youth are ignoring the Tsarzo because it is no longer profitable. “They say it is better to work at the construction sites than to weave bamboo products.”

The art of making bamboo products in the gewog has been spiraling down since 2005.  A businessman, Sonam Wangdi, said he used to make minimum three trips to Thimphu to sell Bangchungs and other bamboo products. “This year I haven’t been able to make a single trip as no one is weaving any longer.” He said people these days weave only to gift it to somebody.

To revive the tradition, the villagers in collaboration with the Royal Society for Protection of Nature have planted bamboo plants near their village.

Source: BBS

Foreign Exchange Reserve

While Bhutan already faces a deficit rupee reserve, compelling the central bank to borrow rupees from banks in India to meet import payments, its convertible currency reserve is also already more than utilised.

Constitutional requirements state that the economy’s convertible currency reserve must cover 12 months of essential import expenditure.

But there are other requirements the convertible currency is used for.  Apart from debt servicing on convertible currency borrowings, a certain portion is pledged against the Rupee borrowings made from Indian commercial banks.  It is also used as a back-up currency for the ngultrum printed and issued by the central bank.

Adding up these requirements, Bhutan’s total foreign currency reserve today is short by USD 20M (Nu 1B accounting in today’s exchange rate).

The requirements add up to USD 762M, while Bhutan’s total foreign currency reserve, according to the central bank’s latest publication, is USD 742M.

The task force, formed to tackle the rupee shortage in April this year, redefined what constitutes essential imports, and recommended that Bhutan maintain a minimum foreign currency reserve of USD 500M to meet essential imports expenditure.

Bhutan pledges USD 100M for the Rs 5B borrowings it has from Indian commercial banks.  Borrowings from the government of India line of credit do not require any collateral.  Its payments on concessional borrowings made from institutions, such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, today stand at USD 22M.

About USD 140M is used as a back-up currency for the Nu 7.3B that has been printed and issued by the central bank and is in circulation in the economy today.

Economies throughout the world set aside a certain amount of their foreign currency reserves, or maintain gold bullion, to back up currency in circulation, in case public loses confidence in the currency.

A local economist said that printing and issuing currency more than the value of the foreign currency means the government is doing business on risk.

While there are no explicit legal provisions requiring central bank to ration a certain percentage of the reserve for the currency in circulation, it is accounted for in the central bank’s balance sheet.

Given this scenario, the central bank today, if the reserve continues to remain the same, cannot print any more ngultrums, nor borrow any more rupees from commercial banks in India.

In April this year, when the task force redefined essential imports, Bhutan’s total foreign reserve was USD 716M.  The collateral for the Rs 10B borrowings from India was USD 200M.  While figures for convertible currency debt repayment were not available for that time, the currency in circulation was Nu 6B, for which USD 109M would have to be kept as back-up currency.

Even after discounting for currency held by banks, and the repayment on convertible currency debt, the foreign reserve was short by USD 93M (Nu 4.8B).

The central bank, which is responsible for managing the economy’s foreign reserve, said that reserves must now be used cautiously.

Deputy governor Pushpalal Chhetri said figures kept changing and with rupee inflows, the collateral for the rupee borrowings would decrease, which would ease the deficit.

Source: Kunselonline