Bhutan national airline Drukair is considering increasing airfares during peak seasons

With aviation fuel prices continuing to surge worldwide, national airline Drukair is considering increasing airfares during peak seasons.

Earlier this year, Drukair committed itself not to increase airfares in 2011, despite rising aviation fuel prices. But this was at a time, when the rate of increase was only around 20-25 percent.

“It has increased by almost 45 percent over one year, but we haven’t increased our fares at all,” said the airline’s commercial manager, Tshering Penjore. “So there’s pressure on the management and we need to also rationalise the amount of increase,” he said.

Between 40-44 percent of Drukair’s operating costs is on aviation fuel.

“We may be forced some time or the other to have a fuel surcharge,” said Tshering Penjore. A fuel surcharge is when an extra cost is added to the airfare to cover the increased fuel price. So far, Drukair has been able to cover fuel price increases because of traffic increase. The airline experienced a 12 percent growth in traffic last year. The airline flew 132,675 passengers in 2010, compared to 118,084 in 2009.

Tshering Penjore pointed out that Drukair is currently still “trying to resist” any increase in airfare. He said that the airline is hoping to offset rising fuel costs by attracting more travellers, which should “mitigate” any increase in airfare.

He added that an increase in airfare would only be for the peak seasons. “We find it pertinent because that’s when demand is at its peak,” said Tshering Penjore. Drukair considers the months of March and April, and September and October as peak seasons. Tshering Penjore added that the rest of the year would see no increase in airfares. He said that Drukair would also continue to maintain its regular discount schemes for both tourists and local travelers.

Source: Kuenselonline

Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead - Barack Obama

Bin Laden was shot dead at a compound near Islamabad, in a ground operation based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August.

Mr Obama said US forces took possession of the body after "a firefight".

Bin Laden is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and a number of others.

He was top of the US' "most wanted" list.

DNA tests later confirmed that Bin Laden was dead, US officials said.

Bin Laden was buried at sea after a Muslim funeral on board an aircraft carrier, Pentagon officials said.

Announcing the success of the operation, Mr Obama said it was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda". Read More

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676

Bhutan: Indian helicopter carrying the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, India missing

A helicopter carrying the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, India which was reported missing since yesterday has not been found so far said the Home Minister Lyonpo Minjur Dorji. He was speaking to the Bhutanese media this afternoon. The Home Minister who is coordinating the search operation said “the entire government machinery has been mobilised and all the dzongdas (governors) of the six eastern districts have been alerted.”

The helicopter left Tawang for Itanagar, the state capital, at 9.55 a.m. with five people on board. Because of bad weather, it had to change route and attempt to fly over Bhutan.

The search has been narrowed down to three areas; Merak and Sakteng area in Trashigang district, Dungte in Trashiyangtse, and Shingkhar Lauri in Samdrupjongkhar. Hundreds of people including district administration officials, armed force personnel, local farmers, park officials, and teachers are combing the area to locate the missing chopper.

“The area is uninhabited and covered by thick forests, the terrain is extremely rough, and the weather conditions unfavourable making the search efforts difficult,” said the Home Minister.

With the Prime Minister closely involved, the Home Minister and the Cabinet Secretary Dasho Tashi Phuntshog are coordinating the efforts with Royal Bhutan Army, the Royal Bhutan Police, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Department of Disaster Management, and the Indian Embassy.

“His Majesty the King who has been informed regularly on the missing chopper is deeply concerned,” said the Home Minister.

A number of helicopters are searching the area where the chopper may have been lost. Communication problems are also hampering the search efforts.

The Cabinet Secretary said “the search will continue till the chopper is located.” Nobody is sure where it has landed, in Bhutan or in India. “Search is on, on both sides of the border,” he said.

Prayers are also being recited in the six eastern districts for the safety of the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and other people on-board the chopper.

Source: BBS

Bhutan health help centre

A pregnant woman in Tongla village in Khenghar Mongar had retained the placenta after delivery. The health assistant, who was in the village, a two-hour walk uphill from the nearest road, dialed 112.

By the time she reached the road head, an ambulance was waiting for her and whisked her off to Mongar hospital. “We could have lost her if it hadn’t been for this service,” the health ministry’s director general Dr Dorji Wangchuk said.

Even as the health help centre (HHC) was formally launched yesterday, the centre in Thimphu was buzzing with calls from remote Bhutan.

A bull had gored a man in Lhuentse, while another call was about a woman, who was having labour pain in Bumthang. Ambulances were dispatched immediately to bring them to the nearest health facility.

Riding on information technology (IT), access to health services across the country is now just a phone call away.

Dial 112, a toll free number for emergencies, advice, and information and for an ambulance if the patient needs to be taken to a doctor.

This facility, health officials said, has now bridged the gap of accessibility and optimised the services of medical professionals, which has been difficult given the terrain and doctor shortage. Statistics show that 40 percent of the population is still an hours walk away from the nearest health center.

“The more free health care services you provide, the more inequality you create; because, while the literate make the most of it, the poor and illiterate are unable to access it,” health minister Zangley Dukpa said at the launch yesterday. “This is one of the reasons why we’re launching the ICT enabled health care service through the health help centre.”

The HHC regulates 61 ambulances stationed in 37 locations in hospitals, with 59 emergency medical technicians (EMT) posted across the country, the centre’s chief executive officer Dr NB Rai said.

Its nationwide service kicked off informally on April 4 and has since then served 2,497 cases to date. Of these, 291 were referrals between hospitals and 544 were emergencies the centre handled from all districts, except Gasa, Dr NB Rai said.

The centre also received 589 cases of healthcare management services where callers were advised, counselled and given e-prescription through SMS. The emergency physician saw 35 cases.

Prank calls have been an issue since operations started. Between February 5 and May 1, the centre recorded 6,895 prank calls, almost thrice the number of “valid” 2,479 emergency calls. On an average, the centre receives about 70 valid calls everyday.

“We even get calls from people asking for momos,” Dr NB Rai said.

Once, the centre received a call from a man who was panicking because his wife was about to deliver. “We sent an ambulance immediately with a EMT and later learnt that it was another man, who was mimicking a woman in labour pain,” he said.

In another case, the centre sent an ambulance to Hontsho only to find no one there and the cell phone switched off. “It’s shameful,” Dr Sudhakar from ProCreate techno systems, one of the consultants from India, said.

The system has back up servers and will run even during power failures, explained the consultants. Chief executive officer of Orange business services in India, Bala Mahadevan, said it is run on a very advanced system that can be scaled up according to the calls the centre receives.

An initiative under the accelerating Bhutan’s socio economic development program, the HHC is set up and operationalised at the cost of Nu 34M in nine months by a consortium of Regal information technology, Thimphu, Equant technology services and ProCreate techno systems, India.

Officials said 25 people could call the centre that is manned by 15 people and two doctors. HCC’s focal person, Gaki said data generated from the center could also be used for evidence based planning.

“The need for a specialised service provider will be optimised and with IT you save costs and provide faster and quality services,” health secretary Dasho (Dr) Gado Tshering said.

Source: Kuenselonline

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