A pedestrian, 68-year old Bhutanese, who was hit by a car today morning, while he was crossing a road to head to his English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, has died.

The victim is identified as Nanda Lal Poudyel. Late Poudyel arrived Raleigh through resettlement program from Sanischare refugee camp in eastern part of Nepal in August 2008.

The accident, according to eyewitness, occurred at the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Sandy Forks roads, less than a mile from victim’s house.

Poudyel, who was immediately rushed to Wakemed Hospital after the incident, was pronounced dead at around 9:20 am.

Our correspondent in Raleigh, who saw the dead body in the hospital, described that the victim’s upper side of the body, in particular head, neck, right ear, among other parts had sustained severe bruises.

Preliminary investigations of the police authorities suggested that the car hit the victim when he had made more than a half way of the road. Authorities confirmed that a white American lady drove the sedan car, which had hit the victim.

Relatives of late Poudyel informed that the funeral rites have been scheduled for Friday from 2-5 pm in accordance with Hindu culture and tradition.

According to Dilli Wagley, who is been actively involved in discussing the issue with the police authorities in the area since the morning, the authorities have assured a fair and thorough investigation to the bereaved family. According to Wagley, the police authorities are yet to disclose the details of the investigations officially.

Meanwhile, an emergency meeting of the Bhutanese folks dwelling in the North Raleigh area held today afternoon, decided to collect 100 USD each from every Bhutanese families in the area, to help the bereaved family with the cremation process. An estimated 25 Bhutanese families live in Raleigh.

Late Poudyel, who originally hailed from Dagana district while in Bhutan, was staying with his family in rented apartments. He is survived by his wife, four sons and five daughters.

With inputs from Khem Khadka/Raleigh.

The third PATA Annual Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart will take place in Paro, Bhutan on February 3-7, 2012 with the official theme of “High Value Tourism – Low Impact Footprints”. This will be the first B2B travel trade gathering in Bhutan.

According to Kesang Wangdi, Director General of the Tourism Council of Bhutan, the opportunity given to Bhutan to host such event has been an honor. He further stated that such international conference will surely broaden the understanding of tourism and stress its positive impact on societies.

The event will witness different national and international speakers sharing their experiences in the tourism sectors. A buyer-seller mart component will target a limited number of relevant high quality buyers primarily from Japan, Chinese Taipei, western Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and the Asian cities of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Bill Calderwood, PATA’s Interim CEO implied that the participation is limited to only a select few, and so that any one wishing to participate at the conference should register at the earliest.

Similar two successful PATA conferences were earlier held in 2010 and 2011 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal.

The women committee of Australian Bhutanese Welfare Organization (ABWO) under the coordination of Maya Adhikari organised the Teej amidst special event at the North Melbourne Institute of Technology (NMIT) Hall in Broadmeadows.

The celebration was marked in three stages – Haritalika Teej puja on August 31, Rishi Panchami puja on September 2 at Hem Lal Adhikari’s residence where women from the community gathered and performed puja under the guidance of Pandit Mitra Lal Adhikari followed by gathering in the NMIT Hall where more than 230 community members participated. They performed traditional dances of teej, sangini by the senior women group and concluded by Vajan and Kirtan. Pandit Adhikari inculcated the importance and meaning of Teej to young boys and girls.

On the September 4, Bhutanese participated in the Ganesh Chauthi celebration organized by the Darebin Council. Statue of Lord Ganesh was made available through Australian devotee Mr Ken, who has been doing this for last 7 years, for the function.

The function was held at Darebin Arts and Centre Hall with all rituals and traditional formalities where members from ABWO sit in the steering committee in the council. The Bhutanese participated in a traditional procession with Indian community to a lake in Bundarra Park in Melbourne’s north for final laying of the statue after prayers. Mayor of Darebin, Councillor Diana Asmar attended the event and said that she has special place for this celebration of Ganesh Chauthi in the Council. She has assured her support to this event.

Senior Bhutanese Bal Bdr Budathoki said that it reminds him of being back home by taking part in the celebration during festive season. Yarra Trams, which also provided a free tram to carry Ganesh statue, supported the program, Special Emergency Services provided volunteers for safety and escort the procession, and Victoria Police offer traffic safety.

Earlier, the Bhutanese celebrated Krishna Janmasthami at the Banksia Community Garden Centre in Broadmeadows on August 21 where more than 150 Bhutanese participated coordinated by Meg Nath Thapa and Bhim Dangal.

Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley, during the 16th Meet the Press session has said that his government has decided to propose an amendment to the Tobacco Control Act in the upcoming parliament session.

“Given the pain and the suffering that it has caused, the government is going to seek a swift deliberation and an adoption on the amendment,” Thinley said.

According to Thinley, the government will propose the amendment as an urgent bill. “Even if it doesn’t satisfy the requirements to be submitted as an urgent bill, we will consult with the National Council and make every effort to see it through during the upcoming session,” added the prime minister.

He said that, after the government heard the stories of people who got heavy punishments and the social and emotional impact on their friends and family, the government tried to find a way out by establishing a set of rules, which was not effective.

Until now, some 59 people have been arrested under the act. And going by the verdicts handed out by the courts, it is likely that those who are found guilty will be sentenced to a minimum of three years, Thinley said.

He explained that the government could not propose an amendment earlier because the act was not one year since it had been enforced. In the summer session of parliament, the act will have been one year old. So, the amendment is possible.

Thinley further said that the decision was taken after the cabinet deliberated on the issue a number of times. He said that they are also looking at the legal implications.

He also told the media that the members of parliament have started to consult with the people about the tobacco act to get their views and comments.

The prime minister acknowledged that there are ambiguities in the act including the ones on what constitutes smuggling.

The Office of the Attorney General is studying the possibility to remove the ambiguities to make certain specific references to ensure that there is no direct relation between certain sections of the act and the Penal Code concerning three years of imprisonment.

Prime Minister also made it clear that it was never the intention of the parliament to punish those who smoke.

Ambassador and head of delegation of the European Union (EU) to India and Bhutan, Daniele Smadja, called on Prime Minister, Jigmi Y Thinley on Monday.

During the farewell, she said her delegation was gratified by the results of the 11th Round Table Meeting, and that the adoption of happiness by the UN is a great contribution from Bhutan to the international arena.

In return, Thinley expressed Bhutan’s gratitude for the role the EU played in the development of Bhutan. “You have all the reason to be proud, because you have been a partner – a trusted partner indeed,” the PM said.

Daniele Smadja took over as the EU ambassador to India – accredited to Bhutan – from December 1, 2009 till date.

Bhutanese in Charlotte, North Carolina marked Teej amidst a special function at a Hindu Temple today.

Chief Coordinator of the Organizing Committee, Hasta Pradhan, informed BNS that the program was organized to mark Teej, one of the biggest festivals for Hindu women, with an objective of preserving culture and tradition.

An estimated 200-plus Bhutanese gathered in a Hall at an Indian-American-run Hindu Temple to mark the festival.

According to the organizers, Bhutanese Pundit mainly focused the morning-phase program in performing Rishipanchami puja, in accordance with Hindu culture, tradition, while rest of others in the afternoon were entertaining ones.

Some local friends of Bhutanese in the area, who have been actively volunteering to assist refugees for local assimilation, representatives from local schools, among others attended the function.

Meanwhile, In Goode, a Tutoring Company, based here in Charlotte helped manage a 14-seater VAN free of costs to transport folks to the function venue.

“This was indeed a great support as those who could not manage the transportation on their own could make it with the support from the In Goode,” added Pradhan.

Dances, solo songs, gazaal, haiku, among others were major attraction of the program. A Bhutanese artist, who joined the program from Tennessee, also presented a solo song.

Participants were also served with typical Nepali food after the completion of the program.

An estimated 600 Bhutanese dwell in Charlotte, NC.

Around three hundred Bhutanese-Nepali women of Syracuse , NY have participated in a group Snan (Holy Bath) to mark this year’s Rishi Panchami amidst a big function today.

The women were seen wearing sari and blouse and holding plates that contained flowers and sweets needed for Puja following the Snan.

The program, that was organized by the Bhutanese Community of Syracuse (BCS) at the beach of Green Lake was viewed with great excitement, and as a means to pass the cultural practices to the younger generation.

According to Hari Bangale, the president of BCS, the program was actually organized so that the younger girls, along with their elders can participate at the Snan and Puja.

“Seeing is believing”, adds Mr. Bangale that if the people get to involve themselves, that will awaken their inner desire to do something to preserve and promote their culture.

He added that he was taken aback seeing the young girls devoted to the Snan.

“Syracuse is the place with cultural diversity even among the Bhutanese group, and we have been successful so far to accommodate everyone. This has been our goal”, adds Mr. Bangaley.

The Snan was followed by Saptarishi Puja in group. According to the Hindu mythology, whatever sins committed by the women knowingly or unknowingly during menstrual cycle through out the year will be washed away by the holy bath.

BCS that was formed in mid 2008 has been carrying out different activities for the benefit of the people.

“BCS has been committed to serve the community. It has many programs piled up. The next thing we have been planning is to celebrate this year’s Vijaya Dasami making it grand so that everyone will understand the Nepalese culture and religious practices,” says Jai Subedi, an executive member of BCS.

Two resettlement agencies operating in Syracuse, Interfaith Works and Catholic Charities assisted the BCS with transportation in today’s event.

Reported by Kazi Gautam for BNS from Syracuse, NY.