News: Phuentsholing Thimphu Highway Blocked

The co-passenger of the Wagon R car, which plunged into the Paro river on March 26, is still missing, according to police.

The vehicle, on its way to Thimphu from Paro, fell into the river while maneouvering a bend two kilometres away from the Chunzom police checkpoint. A search team from the Paro police found the body of the driver, who was in his early 30s, on March 28.

Both men were found missing when police arrived at the scene. They found the car entirely submerged in the river. The accident was reported to police by officials at the Chunzom checkpost.

The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.

Source: Kuenselonline

News: Education ministers from the eight SAARC member nations met in Sri Lanka

Education ministers from the eight SAARC member nations met in Sri Lanka for the first meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Education this week.

Addressing the meeting, Bhutan’s education minister Lyonpo Thakur Singh Powdyel said that conference is important as education is the single most powerful instrument for the empowerment and development of the people.

Lyonpo Thakur said that South Asia is home to more than 20% of the world’s youth and one sixth of the world’s total population.

The education minister said that Bhutan is excited about the advent of the South Asian University as it will put the region back on the intellectual orbit.

Lyonpo added that with the advent of democracy in Bhutan, education is called upon to enlighten and empower the people to internalize the essentials of this new system and become its keepers and its custodians.

The meeting also deliberated on re-shaping and re-modeling higher education policies in South Asia to increase youth employment and to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Source: BBS

9. Trashiyangtse

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Trashiyangtse is the administrative center for this district. Situated in a small river valley, it is a lovely spot from which to take walks in the surrounding countryside. The Dzong overlooking the town was built in the late 1990s when the new district was created. Trashiyangtse is famous for its wooden containers and bowls, which make inexpensive, attractive and useful mementos of a visit to this remote region. The Institute for Zorig Chusum, where students study the 13 traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan, is also worth a visit.

8. Trashigang

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Trashigang lies in the far east of Bhutan, and is the country’s largest district. Trashigang town, on the hillside above the Gamri Chu (river), was once the center for a busy trade with Tibet. Today it is the junction of the east-west highway, with road connections to Samdrup Jongkhar and then into the Indian state of Assam. This town is also the principle market place for the semi-nomadic people of Merak and Sakteng, whose way of dress is unique in Bhutan.

7. Mongar

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Mongar is the fastest developing Dzongkhag in eastern Bhutan. Mongar is noted with its lemon grass,a plant that can be used to produce an essential oil.It also has a hydropower plant on the Kuri Chhu.

Mongar Dzong, Although built in the 1930s and one of Bhutan’s newest dzongs, it is constructed in the same way as all earlier Dzongs, without plans or nails. A visit to Mongar Dzong shows one how traditional Bhutanese architecture has continued to thrive through the centuries.