Bhutan health ministry has signed a contractual agreement with India

The health ministry has signed a contractual agreement with a consortium of Bhutanese and Indian technology companies to improve healthcare service delivery by setting up a health help centre (HHC).

The HHC is an initiative, under the accelerating Bhutan’s socio-economic development program, through specific initiatives, like the healthcare helpline and emergency response system, as detailed in the performance compact signed with the prime minister in December 2009.
With the healthcare helpline, the ministry claims that patients could call a toll free number twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week to seek medication, counselling, public health information and other associated helpline. “In case of complications, a patient shall be directed to the nearest health facility adequately equipped and having capacity to attend the patient immediately,” states a press release from the ministry.

As a part of the emergency response system, patients in emergency could call a toll free 24X7 and request an ambulance at the location of the incident. The nearest ambulance would then be dispatched to the location to pick up the patient, according to the press release. “The health facility would also be intimated of the patient’s arrival, so that they are prepared to handle the case.”

Both the initiatives are to be launched by December 17.

The consortium comprise of the Regal information technology in Thimphu, Equant technology services pvt ltd and Procreate techno systems pvt ltd, both Indian companies.

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan people gathered for voter photo identity card

A 40-year old man from Paro emerged out of a crowd gathered at the royal academy of performing arts (RAPA) hall, rubbing his eyes that had turned red from being exposed to dust.

He said he had been waiting since April 19 to collect his voter photo identity card.

“They stopped issuing the cards after 5pm, least considerate of those of us, who waited since morning the first day,” he said yesterday. “I’m giving up. There’s no point. I’ve waited until lunch today.”

A young man from Trashigang, working with a corporate firm, claimed to have waited since 7am yesterday, only to find a long queue already formed in front of the door to the hall.

“It took me more than five hours to get my card,” he said seeming rather satisfied, adding there was no point in standing in a queue, when everyone else broke line. “You have to jostle and sharp-elbow those around you.”

In the process, a woman from Trashigang living in Thimphu said that some men were almost bound for fisticuffs.

A woman was taken to hospital, following a stampede in their struggle to get in front of the queue, although medical officials at the emergency ward said she suffered no major injuries and was sent home following a brief examination.

At the Motithang school hall, where another crowd of Thimphu residents had gathered to collect their voter cards, police officials shoved a few people back into the crowd, as they tried to force open the door.

To save people all that hassle, the police their curses and the election commission officials the strain, many in the crowd suggested that commission officials should have provided at least a week to collect the cards.

A civil servant, who left after a brief scan of the crowd, said authorities should not complain of a lukewarm response during elections later, if they made the process towards it so unfavourable.

“What’s the purpose of a voter card in the first place when we have identity cards,” she said. “Isn’t that good enough to identify our eligibility to vote.”

A businessman suggested the authority should have divided the two days into couple of hours for people of different dzongkhags depending on sizes.

“What they’re doing isn’t service to the people but an attempt to show the authorities higher up that they’re doing something,” he said.

His friend, working with an autonomous agency, said that, despite taking two days leave from the office, he was unable to fetch his voter card.

“It’s a wastage of time,” he said.

On the issue of providing more time, commission’s deputy chief electoral registration officer Sonam Tobgyel explained that they had decided on the two-day collection time from the feedback they had garnered following the general elections.

“Give them a few days or a week, they’ll still rush at the last moment,” he said, adding the cards would be distributed to each household in every chiwog.

“They have to go to their villages to vote anyway and their voter cards will be there,” Sonam Tobgyel said. “It’s for these reasons we can’t hold the cards here for more than two days.”

He also said the commission officials spent at least 12 hours a day trying distributing the voter cards to Thimphu residents from other parts of the country.

Sonam Tobgyel agreed that, while the citizen identity card would also do, he said they were mandated by their act to distribute voter cards.

“The voter card contains in detail the polling stations and the constituency of a voter,” he said.

The two-day voter card distribution for 17 dzongkhags ended yesterday, and they will be sent to their respective dzongkhags.

Voter card distribution for three dzongkhags of Punakha, Trongsa and Trashiyangtse has already been completed.

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan and Nepal will resume talks

Bhutan and Nepal will resume talks on the issue of the people in the camps in Nepal, said Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley at Paro airport yesterday. Lyonchhoen was returning after a six-day trip to Nepal and Afghanistan. He visited the two countries in his capacity as the current chairperson of SAARC.

Talks between Bhutan and Nepal on the issue of the people in the camps were suspended in 2003, when members of the Bhutanese joint verification team were attacked by a mob at one of the camps located in eastern Nepal. Until then, 15 ministerial-level talks had been held.

While in Nepal, Lyonchhoen also insisted that the Nepalese government work on the compensation for the Tara Air crash victims’ families. Eighteen Bhutanese were killed, when their plane crashed in Nepal last December.

Lyonchhoen and the Nepalese prime minister, Jhala Nath Khanal, discussed strengthening and deepening relations between the two countries. They agreed to renew a trade agreement to boost bilateral trade. They also agreed to renew and revise a bilateral air services agreement, which could see national airline Drukair operating between Bagdogra, India and Kathmandu, Nepal.

As the current chairperson of SAARC, Lyonchhoen was following up on the implementation of measures reached during the 16th SAARC summit here in Thimphu.

During the three-day visit to Afghanistan, Lyonchhoen met with President Hamid Karzai and with First Vice President Marshall Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Second Vice President Mohammad Karim Khalili.

He said that President Karzai’s trip to Bhutan and his visit to Kabul have enabled the two countries to strengthen and deepen bilateral relations, have a deeper understanding of each other, to work together.

The prime minister was accompanied by the economic affairs minister and minister-in-charge of foreign affairs, Khandu Wangchuk, ambassador of Bhutan to Nepal and officials from the prime minister’s office and foreign ministry.

He described the visit as one that “was committed to deepen and strengthen relations of Bhutan with both Nepal and Afghanistan.”

Source: Kuenselonline

Knock-out Round Starts

In the last round of the pre-quarters for the street football at Changlimithang in Thimphu, CCFC defeated Young Stellers 2-1 goals and Atsara defeated ILCS 4-3 yesterday.

SK defeated Cypress FC by five goals, while its opponent team lost by two goals. Drukpa also scored four goals against BoB, who lost by one goal. YHSS wiil play against Ravengers, Gunners against SK Utd, CCFC will take on Atsara and Drukpa on Norling today in the first knock-out round of the first street football tournament

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan in the age-old battle against wildlife

In the age-old battle against wildlife, farmers in eastern Bhutan have tried and tested endless methods to keep wild animals off their farms.

Mongar farmers have finally landed a solution that probably appears to be a success.

Serving more than just a decorative purpose, stuffed toys, those of tigers, have today replaced the traditional scarecrow in Mongar farms. And it has worked so far.

Farmer Jamtsho, 45, from Drepong gewog said the real-sized tigers, with almost original patterns and features, have done magic to their farm, which was frequently attacked by monkeys that came in troops of not less than 50.

The tigers that cost about Nu 1,500 from shops in Mongar town are neatly placed at an elevation in the field. It appeared genuine and succeeded in frightening other animals, especially monkeys.

Jamtsho remembers constructing makeshift huts and spending countless nights there, guarding his farm.

He said, if they left the farm briefly, to attend events like village zomdu, half their yield would be gone.

“All our efforts would go to waste,” he said, adding they had to compete with the monkeys, wild boars and porcupines.

Jamtsho said the wild animals became such a nuisance, farmers tried clearing bushes around the fields, erecting numerous scarecrows and constructing fences using best materials.

When he nearly lost all hope, a simple stuffed toy did the trick. And today, not a single monkey can be spotted near his field.

“It’s no exaggeration but the tiger eased my life drastically,” he said.

His neighbour, a former gup, Pema Tshewang, said for the last two years, the tigers, almost a metre long, had been protecting his three-acre maize field.

He said they noticed monkeys disappearing for weeks after spotting the tiger in the field.

“But you should know how to place it,” he said, adding presenting the tiger behind a thin layer of bush or amid twigs made it look even more real.

It was often removed during the night and off-harvest season.

“Monkeys attacked mostly during the day,” he said.

Rinzin, 49, from Thangrong gewog, said many farmers in villages across Mongar preferred to use the tiger in place of other scarecrows.

“Some friends introduced it about two years ago,” he said. “This came as a blessing to poor farmers like us, who spent sleepless nights guarding our farms, only to be stripped off our yields at the end of the year.”

Source: Kuenselonline