Sept 22: Security check-in have been established in Beldangi camp to check the entry of vehicles in view of increment in unruly activities.
Armed Police Force (APF) built entry gates at Beldangi I and II and started keeping active vigil on vehicles and motor bikes entering camps.
According to source at the APF, strangers need to obtain security pass to enter camps. This move by the police came at a time when refugees have expressed serious concern about the fragile security inside camps.
A week after the murder of social activist KB Khadka on September 8, a new group calling itself as ‘Druk Leopard’ scattered pamphlets in Beldangi and Sanischare camp warning some exiled Bhutanese and their leaders to vacate camps along with their family members or to face stern physical actions.
The culprits of Khada murder, however, are absconding and no individuals or group has owned up responsibility to the incident.
Sept 22: Youth Friendly Centre (YFC), a program implemented by CARITAS Nepal, has managed to have online degree from Canada-based Respect University
YFC has managed a room with six internet connected computers in Damak, Jhapa.
Refugees who have completed Higher Secondary education can join online degree on various subjects on their choice. It is said that regular classes will begin from this month where students can select any of the 2-3 year degree and 3-6 months diploma courses.
The courses offered are Basic Accounting, Basic Mathematics, Democracy, Women Empowerment, Persuasive Writing, Journalism, ESL, Media/Mass Communication, International Human Rights Law, Human Rights, Job Interviewing and CV writing, Large and Small Scale Industry Management, Project Management (Development), among others.
Students will receive every matter online and by post.
Father Peter Jong Lepcha, Program Coordinator for YFC informed BNS that home works for starting the class has completed.
Respect University will also issue merit certificates upon completion of the course. The University encourages refugees, internally displaced, war victims and armed conflict victim students who have left their studies in Higher Secondary level to join degree level.
CARITAS Nepal has been providing education for Bhutanese refugees since 1992. It operates pre-primary to secondary level school within Camps and supports partially to the Higher Secondary level students for their studies.
Besides Academic Programs, CARITAS Nepal implements disability programs for physically and mentally disabled persons, Child Play Centre, Spoken English Class, vocational trainings, among others.
Sept 21: One refugee in Morang-based Sanischare camp, who was critically injured in attack from his own brother, died due to lack of adequate finance back-up to push him for head surgery, which its claimed has been expensive and complicated in nature.
Late Dhan Bir. Photo/Arjun
Police source informed BNS that Birkha Bahadur Tamang, 22, of Sector D/1-04 stabbed his own brother Dhan Bir, 35, by random physical assaults with bamboo sticks and rod.
Dhan Bir, who sustained severe injuries on head, was rushed to BP Koirala Hospital in Dharan, but to no avail.
According to his relatives, they were compelled to bring back Dhan Bir to temporary hut in Sanischare camp following the advice of medical assistants and doctors involved in his treatment at Dharan-based hospital.
Dhan Bir, who was discharged in critical condition, died in his own hut after doctors at the Dharan-based hospital were said to have cited the head injury as intricate and expensive too.
According to police source at the Urlabari Police post, they have already arrested Birkha Bahadur, who has admitted the crime.
Confessing the crime, Birkha has said the incident occurred while he was in a drunken state. However, the truth behind Birkha’s motive to kill his own brother is not yet known.
By Arjun Pradhan/BNS
Damak, Jhapa
Sept 21: An earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the richter scale, which hit Bhutan around 3 pm today has left ten people dead.
According to Reuters, at least five lives were claimed in Mongar while other five were killed in landslides in remote places of eastern districts.
Government-run Kuensel reported that damages to properties including chortens and lhakhangs, are reported in various eastern districts.
The strong quake was centered in Mongar district, 104 miles east of Thimphu at a depth of 4.5 miles, wrote the US Geological Survey.
“Houses, and monasteries and roads have been damaged. Mobile services are clogged,” Lungthen Dorji, the governor of Trashigang district told Reuters.
No authority has so far estimated the loss, however, several witness reported the state-owned radio that chortens and lhakangs were destroyed by the earthquake.
The Indian media have quoted the Meteorological Department of India reporting of tremors in the bordering states of Assam and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, the online version of Washington Post quoting officials has mentioned that the quake was also felt in Bangladesh and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital in southwest China, but there were no signs of damage in either place, officials said.
Sept 20: Resettled Bhutanese refugees in different parts of United States of America have decided to mark great Hindu festival Dashain, which began from Saturday, on their tradition styles.
At a time when almost 17,600 refugees have been resettled in USA, preparations for the celebration of Dashain festival are underway in different states.
Resettled Bhutanese in Dallas city of Texas are celebrating the festival by organising get together program on Sunday, which is expected to be attended by an estimated eighty families in a hall. According to L.B. Subba, a member of the Bhutanese Community in Dallas (BCD), also the organiser of the function, they will perform Durga Puja and a special and organised cultural show will rock the hall.
Similar to that of Texas, under the initiative of Bhutanese Mutual Assistance Association of Tucson (BMAAT), refugees in Tucson city of Arizona State are celebrating the festival on the same day where an estimated four hundred people are having get together program in a hall. BMAAT has expected to attract even Mayor, representatives from the resettlement agencies, police and community people towards their program. DB Adhikari, the chief of BMAAT informed BNS that depending on the status of the person, at least 15 US dollar is being charged for each family for the celebration.
Despite busy schedules here, Bhutanese community in Kentucky is celebrating the festival by organizing three days Durga Puja and teeka offering function from September 26-28 in an open ground in Louisville where bhajan and kirtan along with various cultural performances will be conducted.
Participants of the get together program organised by California-based Bhutanese Community Support Organisation in America (BASCO). The program, attended by estimated 400 refugees, was organised today in Washington park in Alemada. The get together was aimed at exchanging wishes among refugees where BASCO had managed all expenses for the program. Typical Nepali food stuffs was served during the program. Photo/TN
People in Chicago city of Illinois State are also preparing for the get together program on Saturday in a hall followed by teeka offering program in a park on the next day. BNS source in Illinois said the community will also declare the formation of Chicago Bhutanese Community for the betterment of Bhutanese in the area. Mahendra Kafle informed BNS that there will be cultural program and thanks giving to resettlement agencies and the supporters in the city.
Gopal Samal informed BNS that Bhutanese Community of Georgia is also preparing for celebrating the festival by having get together on Saturday, which will be participated by estimated 3000 refugees resettled in Atlanta city.
In Seattle city of Washington, as per Som Acharya, they are planning to celebrate the festival in a hall by conducting Durga puja and cultural program where dances and songs giving the insignia of Nepali culture and tradition will be performed on Saturday. A committee has been formed there for the management of the function.
Hari Khanal from Massachusetts said that due to the small figure of population in this State, they will celebrate in a simple and common style by receiving blessings and teeka from the elder ones.
Dhaka Ram Timsina from Michigan informed BNS that they are preparing for the celebration in a hall where they will be having blessings and teeka offered by the elders. He further informed maximum people in the State have decided to manage the half-day holiday for the celebration of the festival.
In some of the States, people are also planning to celebrate the festival by visiting the nearby Hindu temples to receive the teeka.
Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival celebrated by a vast majority of Nepali-ethnic community around the world. The goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual holy bathing. Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons.
Sept 20: Bhutanese pharmaceutical research officials have claimed that a vital ingredient for tablets used to treat influenza, including H1N1, is now available in Bhutan.
Officials confirmed that the ingredient could be extracted from herb plants known as star anise.
This plant is believed to be available in abundance in Samdrupjongkhar and Mongar districts where as it is also found in Thimphu, Diafam and Radi.
According to officials, the local names for the plant are Sengpashing and Wonbasinang.
“The star anise found in Bhutan is of a different species but closely related to the one used to produce tamiflu tablets,” said the officiating head of pharmaceutical and research unit at the institute of traditional medicine services (ITMS), Ugyen Dendup.
Star anise, available in parts of China, is used to produce tamiflu tablets.
Ugyen Dendup, however, said that although there was a close relation between the star anise found in Bhutan and those found in other places, there was no study to estimate the exact percentage of the ingredient (shikimic acid) content of the Bhutanese star anise. “If the percentage of shikimic acid content is good, then there’s a huge prospect in the international market. But first there are certain exploratory works that we need to undertake.”
Bhutan is one of the best-known sources for medicinal herb plants in south Asia region, however, the government has not been strong enough to utilize its significance at present context.
Sept 20: Speakers of the mourning meeting held in Beldangi camp on thirteenth day of the funeral rites of late KB Khadka has urged the concerned authorities to trap the culprit into police net.
According to our Beldangi correspondent Arjun Pradhan, the mourning meeting was attended by refugees, locals, camp management committee members, social workers, representative from various organisations, among others.
None of the refugee leaders were seen attending the mourning meeting to exchange condolence messages.
Two unknown masked youths murdered social activist Khadka on September 8 near Beldangi camp while he was on his way to his hut on motor cycle.
Neither any organisation or individual has owned up responsibility to the incident nor has the authorities been able to book the culprit.
Sept 19: The ninth Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) Conference has made a series of recommendations to promote and simplify the national language Dzongkha.
The conference that ended yesterday recommended this to ensure that people not only speak it but also find it easier to read and write it.
The conference attended by at least 75 experts and members also made about five dozens recommendations including the simplification of language.
The conference also recommended to make the curriculum uniform and interesting to future policies and plans.
The conference recommended simplifying Dzongkha by making the words easier to understand and use.
To make the curriculum more interesting it was also recommended that school textbooks should contain more words of daily use and also have a lot of pictures with interesting short stories.
To understand and use Dzongkha more effectively the experts recommended continuing the memorizing methodology in teaching Dzongkha subjects.
To promote the national language as many Dzongkha, English and Buddhist language dictionaries will be produced as possible.
The recommendations does not including the production of Nepali language dictionary. A vast majority of people living in southern belt of the country comprises Nepali-ethnic community.
Sept 18: Phuentsholing dungkhag court’s senior bench clerk, who went missing on September 5, surfaced in Samdrupjongkhar town on September 14, claiming to have been kidnapped by some Indians, who ultimately let him go without a ransom.
Norbu Wangdi, 43, reportedly went missing on September 5, when he was on his way from Phuentsholing to Samdrupjongkhar, via the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam, to resolve a land issue.
Norbu Wangdi, according to people who spoke to him, said that he and his friend Vijay Thapa, a driver from Jaigaon, India, boarded an evening bus to Samdrupjongkhar from Hashimara on the evening of September 5. Samdrupjongkhar is a 10-hour drive from Phuentsholing.
Norbu Wangdi said that he slept throughout the journey and asked Vijay Thapa to wake him up when they reach Rangia in Assam, 49 km from Samdrupjongkhar. He woke up the next morning to find himself in an unfamiliar place from where they were picked up by a Maruti car, which Vijay Thapa said belonged to his brother.
They drove for about 15 km and stopped at a house for tea, after which the brothers disappeared, saying that they would get food for him. Shortly, four men he’d never seen before showed up and began to tie him up.
On September 7, the men took him to a paddy field and called his wife in Phuentsholing, demanding a ransom of Nu 1,000,000 and then took him back to the house.
The same process was repeated the next day on September 8 and, when Norbu Wangdi’s wife said that she wasn’t able to manage the amount, they reduced it to Nu 500,000. On September 11, Norbu Wangdi said that he was taken back to the same field and kept there the whole night.
However, on September 13, the men untied him, gave him Nu 300 and told him to go back to Bhutan. He said that they dropped him near the highway then left. From there Norbu Wangdi boarded a bus to Rangia and then to Samdrupjongkhar town.
The senior bench clerk from Bartsham, Trashigang, had taken leave for two days and was supposed to join office on September 9. When he didn’t reach Samdrupjongkhar, a case was filed with the Phuentsholing police.
