Home Minister Minjur Dorji has indicated that people would raise census and citizenship related issues by the end of this year.

With the intention of digging out the reasons behind why many people were not included in the census earlier, three teams from the Home Ministry have been talking to the people of five southern districts since March.

The team was supposed to conduct the verification work sometimes ago. However, it was deferred due to recent recent local government elections.

The team of officials committed to bring out the truth will be assisted by the village leaders and census officials. The result will be submitted to the Ministry’s census committed members that will do the final review before it will be handed over to the government.

The director for civil registration and census, Sonam Topgay highlighted that the verification is expected to focus on census drop-out cases. The people who have all required documents but were not included in the previous census will be included this time without a fail. Although the department has all required information, the team has been exercised to go to the field to make sure there do not remain any people behind.

The Home Ministry officials stated that people have a false notion that by categorizing them into different categories, they’re put into different boxes, where they are meted with different treatment and opportunities.

According to Sonam Tobgay, there are only three broad categories of people living in the country, Bhutanese citizens, special resident permit holders (SRP) and non-citizens.

SPR holders have two distinct categories. One who got married before June 10, 1985 – if the husband is Bhutanese and the wife is foreigner, the children get citizenship, whereas the wife would be SRP holder. But if the wife is Bhutanese and husband is a foreigner, the husband and children would hold a SRP.

Second case is that of people who got married after June 10, 1985. This case will be dealt with by the department of immigration.

However, the hot topic of discussed form of citizenship in online forums is F5, which basically means SRP holders, and marriage cases after June 10, 1985.

A person who is a SRP holder but not a Bhutanese citizen enjoys the right as any citizens since one of the parents is a Bhutanese citizen. However, he would not have the right to vote.

The SRP holder can be a Bhutanese citizen if they apply for naturalization with the department of immigration.

The census department functions according to the Citizenship Act of 1958, 1977 and 1985, national assembly resolutions, national census records and the constitution.

The Animal Rescue Site and Humane Society International (HSI) have partnered together to helping the street dogs of Bhutan.

The Humane Society International will be working three-to-five years to relieve estimated 50,000 Bhutanese dogs. Until today, HSI staff have been successful in treating over 16,800 dogs.

The shoppers can make a donation at the The Animal Rescue Site that has added a “Spray/Neuter A Street Dog” Gifts That Give More program. This donation will actually be available to the Humane Society International that will go ahead with the nationwide spray program in Bhutan.

Whatever the donation is collected, it will be donated to charity as a grant from nonprofit, GreaterGood.org.

The Animal Rescue Site has already partnered with greaterGood Network and the humane Society International to help animal rescue group in Japan. It was successful in collecting a little over $200,000 that will be enough to help rescue animals through 2012.

For the last eleven years, the GreaterGood Network has succeeded in contributing more than $20 million to charity worldwide.

The survivor of firing in Baltimore, Maryland, who is undergoing treatment under critical condition, is identified as Bikash Gurung age, 17.

According to an eyewitness, Bikash ran into his apartment and fell down in sitting room screaming for help. “I am shot and my uncle is outside, please call the police,” Bikash is quoted as saying, before this eyewitness called the 911 and rushed him to hospital.

Meanwhile, the deceased late Big Bahadur Gurung, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital, is reported to have sustained bullets in his chest. Police had found him at the side of the apartment.

The shoot-out victims—Big Bahadur (deceased) and Bikash (survivor) are close relatives, originally hailed from Dagana district in Bhutan.

Police authority in the area, during a brief meeting with the victims’ relatives and community leaders on Wednesday, said that the investigation is underway. No one has been arrested in connection to the incident until the filing of this report.

A latest report obtained from the hospital says that Gurung’s condition is improving. Gurung could say nothing about the cause of the shooting, but he said to his sister, Buddhi Gurung, that two black men approached him with a gun demanding for money. “As I was opening my wallet, they shot my uncle. After that they shot me on my stomach”, Buddhi Gurung quotes Bikash Gurung as saying.

Reporting contributed by KN Upreti from Baltimore.

Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley has admitted that the newly introduced democracy has failed to win the hearts of many Bhutanese who may still wish for monarchy at critical times.

In a recent interview with AFP, Prime Minister Thinley seemed uncertain about the future of democracy. He further stated that democracy is new to the country and it is far to envision what it may bring to the glory of people.

According to the PM, different democratic countries have been the cause of trouble, and Bhutan could not be an exception.

“It is an emerging democracy which has a long way to go”,added the PM that the king may have to intervene if things do not go well.

It is interesting that only only two parties contested the polls in 2008. Thinley’s Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Bhutan United Party had a grand winning-45 of the 47 seats in the new National Assembly. The People’s Democratic Party won only two seats.

It is worth mentioning that autocracy opened the kingdom to the outside world only in the 1970s. The country did not have any proper roads or currencies or access to telephones until 1960s. Television was allowed to the public only in 1999.

Different analysts admit that Bhutan has not fully adapted to the democracy.

In two different incidents of shooting, two youths have been killed while two other are critically injured in Baltimore, Tuesday night.

According to Baltimore police, 17-year-old male victim was found shot multiple times in the torso. He was rushed to an area hospital. He is reported to be in critical but stable condition.

Another 20-year old youth was found behind the building with a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at 10:32 p.m. at an area hospital. Referring police spokesman Kevin Brown, Baltimore Sun.Com has mentioned that the deceased is identified to be Big Bahadur Gurung, a Nepali immigrant.

Police said the two men may have been targeted in a robbery.

Meanwhile, KN Uprety, Chairman of Baltimore Bhutanese Committee has mentioned that Gurung was a recently resettled Bhutanese refugee. Despite our effort to contact Uprety, he was not immediately available. Until the filing of this report, nothing more has been known about the deceased and the victim.

In another separate incident of shooting, another 24-years old man was killed. Police identified him as Jones III of the 3400 block of Oakfield Ave. in Baltimore.

Details to follow