The Bhutanese Community in Australia Inc. (BCA) in Melbourne collected AU$2006 to contribute to the flood victims in Queensland.
A meeting of the resettled Bhutanese on January 9 decided to collect donations immediately. Accordingly collection in Melbourne was coordinated by Dhan Siwakoti with Dhenu Acharya, Kamal Dhimal, Khina Dhimal and Kahgendra Acharya as members of the team.
The money has been forwarded to the flood victims donation fund through the ANZ bank on Thursday, BCA chairman Parsu Luitel said.
BCA is one of the first refugee communities to support the victims of natural calamities in Australia. It has already donated for Bushfire in Victoria and fire victims in Beldangi refugee camps in Nepal.
Similarly, according to Radha Krishna Guragai, General Secretary of BCA from Albury, Bhutanese in Albury contributed over AU$650 and preparing to send the donation shortly. As per the Durga Guragia, Executive Member of BCA from Wodonga, Bhutanese in Wodonga are planning to contribute through the Wodonga City Council. Some Bhutanese friends from Albury, Wodonga and Melbourne also have donated personally through online and telephone.
The flood donation in Albury was initiated and coordinated by Damber Rai, an active member of BCA.
Bhutanese in Adelaide are also collecting their donations and are expected to send by end next week. Many of them have already donated through several donation schemes individually. According to Sushil Niroula, they have collected around AU$500. Collection drive is underway and anyone willing to donate are welcome, says Niroula.
Read message by BCA regarding donations to the victims here.
At least two participants of the ongoing hunger strike from Pathri refugee camp of Sanischare of Morang district have been hospitalized today as the protest marks the fourth-day.
Kids display placards at hunger strike program in Sanischare/Lakpa Tamang
Sulochana Tamang, 39, and Dhan Maya Bhusal, 35, were rushed to Damak-based AMDA Hospital this afternoon following their referral from its medical attendants.
“Their health condition has been worsening,” Community Health Supervisor, Purba Lama, told Bhutan News Service, “We decided to admit them in the hospital since they have crossed 96 hours without food.”
At least 17 asylum seekers, absentees of official registration conducted in 2006 by the UNHCR and the Government of Nepal, and registered exiled Bhutanese but without identity cards or whose rations have been suspended due to various reasons, have been continuing their hunger strike since Monday demanding registration and refugee status.
Meanwhile, the local authority has been urging the protestors to call back their strike.
Participants of hunger strike
According to Chairman of the Bhutanese Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee, Dr. Bhampa Rai, the authority has warned that it would apply force to make the strikers withdraw their protest programs.
However, the agitators have said they would not agree to withdraw the strike unless their demands are met.
The group leading the protest has been claiming that around 3,190 are in need of their refugee status.
Reported by Lakpa Tamang for BNS from Sanischare camp
If you are living in Bhutan and that your home has smuggled tobacco, it is time that you got to be cautious: cops can raid your home.
In a bid to becoming the world’s first smoke-free nation, Bhutan police are training a special tobacco sniffer dog to help them track down smuggled tobacco from the homes of smokers.
Bhutan officially declared the ban on the sale of tobacco in 2005, but to no avail. It is believed that the ban visibly failed to generate an impact since the smokers continue to smuggle tobacco from neighboring India.
A legislation has been recently passed that grants police powers to enter homes and in the case they find shopkeepers selling tobacco the latter will have to serve jail term up to five years. This rule also applies to those smokers who fail to provide customs receipts for imported cigarettes.
Smoking in private is not illegal in the Himalayan kingdom, but as the sale of cigarettes is banned, smokers are restricted to 200 cigarettes or 150 grams of other tobacco products a month that can be legally imported. And they must provide a customs receipt when challenged by police.
The Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency has started raids, with officials allowed to enter homes if someone is seen smoking or if officials have reason to believe there is illegal tobacco there.
There has been widespread grumbling about the new rule.
“When it comes to the penalties in the tobacco control act, it is, in every sense of the word, draconian,” the country’s largest selling newspaper, Kuensel, said in an editorial.
The Tobacco Act was passed in a joint sitting of parliament, with opposition from only four of the 65 voting members.
“It’s a new year. And I have a new year’s wish: that the first person to be caught and jailed under the Tobacco Control Act is a member of parliament,” opposition leader Tshering Tobgay wrote on his popular blog.
Meanwhile, prime minister said the law cannot be called draconian and it was passed in the “collective wisdom” of the members of parliament.
“It is cancerous, both in the literal and the metaphoric sense, cancerous to society and to individual and in many ways it is no different from psychotropic drugs, for which the penalty in certain countries is death,” Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley said.
Asylum seekers, absentees of official registration conducted in 2006 and registered exiled Bhutanese, who have been waiting for their identity cards or whose rations have been suspended due to various reasons, have continued their hunger strike on the third day.
Participants of relay hunger strike at Sanischare camp/Jagen Gautam
They have demanded prompt registration and refugee status before conducting the elections of Camp Management Committees (CMC) in various camps.
Over a dozen of such Bhutanese have been carrying out their protest program in Sanischare camp since Monday.
They have displayed various placards with slogans – what is my identity?, ensure my food, shelter and identity, etc.
The agitating folks have also warned that they wouldn’t allow conducting CMC elections if their demands are not met.
The group leading such people has been claiming that around 3,190 are in need of their refugee status.
Reported by Jagen Gautam for BNS from Sanischare camp
For the first time in the internet history of Bhutan, the capital city has started using trial signals of Wi-Fi from this week.
However, it is limited to vicinity of the Bhutan Telecom (BT) head office in Thimphu.
BT aims to expend DrukNet Wi-Fi services to other parts of the capital and rest of the districts gradually if it is able to accomplish the trial service successfully.
BT has revealed that it has around 7,000 broadband subscribers in through-out the country.
Prime Minister Jigyi Y Thiney, who is in Dhaka since Monday, on Tuesday assured Bangladesh of all cooperation in the power sector, media reports said.
PM Thinely
PM Thinley gave the assurance during the official talks with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina at her office.
According to his assurance, an upstream country Bhutan would protect the interests of downstream Bangladesh regarding free flow of river water as well.
After the talks, Bangladesh and Bhutan signed an agreement on cultural exchange and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in health sector, online edition of the Financial Expressed carried today.
Based on this MoU, Bhutan can hire medical doctors from Bangladesh to fulfill the high demand of doctors in Bhutan.
मोरङको शनिश्चरे शिविरमा आज पनि राहत वञ्चित भुटानी शरणार्थीहरुले अनसन जारी राखेका छन्
हिजो बिहान देखि १७ जना भुटानी शरणार्थीहरु अनिश्चितकालका लागि भोक हडतालमा उत्रिएका हुन् ।
शनिश्चरे शरणार्थी शिविरमा शरणापेक्षीको वर्गमा परेका , शिविर बाहिरका सँग बिबाह गरेका , फोटो खिची परिचय पत्र पाउन बाँकी , शरणार्थी गणनामा छुटेका र शरणार्थीको रुपमा दर्ता नभएका भुटानीले दर्ता तथा सहायताको माग सहितको ज्ञापन पत्र त्यहाँस्थित शरणार्थी समन्वय एकाई र अन्य सहायता निकायका अधिकारीहरुलाई यस अघि नै बुझाएका थिए ।
एउटै परिवारमा पनि सहायता पाउने र नपाउने ब्यक्ती रहँदा परिवारहरु चर्को मारमा परेको हडतालको अगुवाई गरिरहेका शरणार्थी किशोरकुमार भण्डारीले बताउनु भएको छ ।
झापा र मोरङका सातै शिविरमा सहायताबाट वञ्चित शरणार्थीको संख्या ३ हजार एक सय नब्बे रहेको सहायता वञ्चित पीडित शरणार्थी समुहले बताउँदै आएको छ ।
Ranjit Basnet Chhetri, who is 74, was just eight when his mother decided to arrange his marriage. He didn’t accept the proposal outright. The only reason for his denial was, he wanted to enjoy his childhood before tying the most sacred knot, accepted by all religions. However, nothing could save him from rejecting the decision.
“Several have asked me how I tied the knot,” he explains, “But only a few could believe the breathtaking narration about my marriage.”
Whenever he is asked to narrate the event, he hesitates to do so as he thinks, he claims, people will just make fun of him since they even don’t try to accept a part of the whole story behind the scene considering the expenses incurred and number of people attending the function.
Ranjit Basnet
He looks at this writer with a laughing brook and says, “Now-a-days, a marriage ceremony can be done with a few hundred rupees. While, my father told me the total expenditure for my marriage was around Rs 900 in 1944 when most of the things were granted free of cost or available at home.”
When his mother decided to arrange this function, his father, martyr Mahasur Chhetri was in India with the then Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji.
“He was not happy with the decision of my mother since he wanted me to study for some more years,” he recalls. However, he was forced to accept the proposal finally as Chhetri’s mother insisted him a lot with every reason.
The four-day event was amazing considering the participation from grass-root level to Brigadier Namgay Bahadur, popularly known as Chhabda.
“I am unable to guess the exact number of invitees who attended the ceremony. But, Chhabda was there with 20 police personnel from the beginning. Those police performed continuous dance throughout the event and still, I have a vivid memory of that.”
He claims that the marriage procession to bride’s home took hours to finally depart from his courtyard. There were over 150 horses and nine groups of Damais with various traditional instruments including 40 Narsinggas and controlled by a few commanders.
“There were 20 goats, four sheep and a six-year-old male buffalo for the invitees, who could finish 14 muris of rice (around 11 quintals) during the event,” he adds. By that time, a goat of around 40 kg used to cost not more than Rs 4.
Over 100 guns were fired to mark the event wasting some 60 kg of gun-powder offered to Mahasur as a gift by one of the Mandals called Baliman.
The only thing Chhetri missed during his marriage was the Prime Minister. “I was grown-up in his palace. He used to be as friendly as anybody else with me but I really didn’t know why he remained absent in the function,” he narrates.
According to him, relatives and friends from as far as Nepal and remote parts of India also were present in his marriage. There were Babu Sahebs, Caprasis, Muktiyars, Mandals and general people, among others.
“Even those who were not invited also attended the function fearing that Mahasur will take action against their absence the next day,” says he adding,” There was no option than to join the procession or at least attend the feast to avoid scolding.”
He further says, “The event was also an opportunity to meet my dad to share their grievances and concerns, which he would later address with the Prime Minister or Babu Sahebs.”
Interestingly, the bride family asked Mahasur to bring as many people as possible along with horses that could feed at least five quintals of maize.
“When the procession reached the bride’s home, the bridal party was shocked to see such a large number of people and horses,” he recollects, “I heard people were eating until the next morning and many had to return back the next day with empty stomach.”
When allocated maize was insufficient to feed all horses, they were let free to graze on crops. Irate villagers tried intervening into the situation against this. But, Mahasur exposed a knife to threaten them.
“We have our horses as per your demand. It is your duty to feed them or you should allow them to graze on your crops,” Chhetri recalls his father as saying to villagers.
When asked if his marriage was the greatest of its kind in Bhutan, he has a ready-made answer, “I participated in a marriage ceremony of late Bhim Basnet, who was the son of well-known Setu Mahajan. I learnt that invitees on that function could only eat 480 kg of rice. So, probably I am in the top of the list.”
Chhetri, who is currently dwelling in Beldangi-II camp Sector A-2, wholeheartedly accepts that all marriages are made in heaven.
“The legend seems old by now,” he tells,” I am passing my days alone as the other-half of my life, who was a part of this great and momentous celebration, passed away in 2008.”
(Mishra, who is currently undertaking a research on the life history of martyr Mahasur Chhetri, can be reached at [email protected] for comments or suggestions, if any.)
अमेरिकी राज्यहरू न्यू हेम्पसायर, म्यासाचुसेट्स र कनेक्टिकटमा पुनर्वाश भएका भूटानीहरूले म्यासाचुसेट्सको स्प्रिङ फिल्डमा आइतबार एउटै मञ्चबाट सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम प्रस्तुत गरे । भुवन गौतमका अनुसार पश्चिम म्यासाचुसेट्समा रहेका भूटानी युवाहरुको सक्रियता तथा अगराज गुरुङको अगुवाइमा म्यासाचुसेट्सको स्प्रिङफिल्डस्थित रेबिका जोनसन विद्धालय परिसरमा सो कार्यक्रम आयोजना गरिएको हो ।
‘‘हाम्रो सांस्कृतिक संरक्षण तथा आपसी भाइचाराको विकासका लागि यो कार्यक्रम आयोजना गरिएको हो’’, केही महिनाअघि तिहारमा देउसी-भैलो खेलेर संकलित रकमबाट युवाहरूले सो कार्यक्रम आयोजना गरेको टेलिफोनमार्फत भूटान समाचार सेवालाई जनाउँदै गौतमले भने ।
लामो समयदेखि विभिन्न कारण थाँतीमा रहँदै आएको भूटानी शरणार्थी शिविरहरूमा गरिने व्यवस्थापन समितिको चुनाउ यही जनवरी तेस्रो साता हुने भएको छ । जनवरीकै २० र २१ गरी दुई दिनमा शिविर व्यवस्थापन समितिको चुनाउ सम्पन्न हुने सम्बन्धित सरोकारवालाहरूले जनाएका छन् ।
शिविरहरूमा चुनाउ त पहिले पनि भएकै हो । तर, यसपालि नौलो के छ भने १८ वर्षमाथिका सबैले मतदान गर्ने योजना छ । चन्द्रगढीस्थित शरणार्थी समन्वय एकाईको हिसाब अनुसार यसपालिको चुनाउमा सरदर ४७ हजार ५९७ शरणार्थीले मतदान गर्नेछन् । ‘‘सधैं परिवारका मूलीले मात्र मतदान गर्ने नियम थियो तर, यसपालि १८ वर्षपुगेका सबैले मतदान गर्न पाउनेछन्’’, समन्वय एकाईका उपनिर्देशक लेखनाथ पोखरेलले जनाए । शरणार्थीहरूको कुल मतदाता संख्यामध्ये २४ हजार २१४ पुरुष र २३ हजार ३८३ महिला रहेका शरणार्थीका लागि संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघीय उच्चायोगको तथ्यांकले देखाएको छ ।
यसपालिको अझ चासोपूर्ण कुरो के छ भने बेल्डाँगीका तीनवटा शिविरमा अब एकजना सचिवमात्र चुनिने भएका छन् र तीनवटै शिविरका लागि दुई उपसचिव रहने छन् । तथापि शिविरहरूमा यो निर्णयप्रति विरोध भइरहेको बेल्डाँगी १ वर्तमान सचिव टीबी गुरुङले जनाएका छन् ।
यसैबीच शिविरमा दर्ता चाहने भूटानीहरूको समूहले चुनाउ विधोल्ने चेतावनी दिएको पनि सुन्नमा आएको छ । उनीहरूले आफूहरुको पनि चुनाउमा मत जाहेर गर्ने अधिकारको प्रयोग गर्न पहिले दर्ताको प्रक्रिया पूरा गरेर मात्र चुनावी योजना तर्जुमा गर्ने माग गरेका छन् ।
यस चुनाउले पुनर्वाश कार्यक्रमअन्तर्गत खाली हुन गएका व्यवस्थापन समितिका कतिपय पदपूर्ति गर्नेछ भने केही शिविरमा पूरै नयाँ संरचना बन्ने पनि सम्भावना छ ।
