dealing you

every saturday
vol 6, issue 08, Nu 15

february 21, 2015

Opposition against
police frisking youth,
proposes alternate
measures
The police, has however taken to
standing by their frisking measures calling
it non-dictatorial and beneficial to society
Lucky Wangmo
from Thimphu

February 19, 2015, Sarpang: His Majesty The King visited Sarpang Town, where 81 shops
and huts were damaged in a fire on Sunday, and met with the people. His Majesty also
granted a separate Audience to the heads of the affected families. His Majesty commended
the government, the armed forces, BIFA and Desuups for wholeheartedly assisting the office of
the Gyalpoi Zimpon in administering relief efforts immediately after the disaster. His Majesty
expressed deepest empathy for the affected people, who are from both Bhutan and across theborder, for having lost so much.“Having visited the shops many times over the years, I know
who you are, what you do, and what your hopes, aspirations, and difficulties are. And so,
I can comprehend very well the magnitude of what you have lost,” His Majesty said. After
granting them an opportunity to describe their needs and difficulties, His Majesty reassured
the people that everything would be done to find ways to ease their troubles.
The affected families were granted Royal Semso.

The Opposition Party on
Tuesday submitted a letterto the Home Ministry toreview the recent proposal
made by the Royal Bhutan
Police (RBP) to frisk youth
after 10pm if they are seenin groups.
Last week at a press
conference, Chief of
Police, Brigadier Kipchu
Namgyel, said that themeasures to address increased youth involvement
in incidents of battery andviolent incidents is carryout mass patrolling and tofrisk all youth who are ingroups of two or more.
According to the letter
sent by the Opposition
party, frisking youth after
10pm would be equal to
the suspension of freedomof movement and criminalization of youth.
The letter also
highlighted that such ameasure would demoralize
the youth, alienate themfrom the society andbreed unnecessary
resentment, fear and p11

Regional cooperation to conserve black-necked cranes
Lucky Wangmo
from Thimphu
Bhutan and India will now
join hands to conserve theendangered black-neckedcranes; a species which according to experts should
be promoted as a culturalsymbol of the Himalayan
region.
During a two day
Indo-Bhutan workshop
on black-necked cranes
held last week in Dirang,
Arunachal Pradesh, India,
experts from the two countries discussed the current
status and conservation
measures related to thecranes.
The workshop coordinator, Pankaj Chandan,
head of the Western Himalayan Landscape, WWF,

India, said the initiative
is to protect and promote
the back necked cranes asa symbol of the cultural
identity of the Himalayan
mountain ecosystem.
Experts from both thecountries recommended
a joint conservation of
the cranes at the landscape level. It has also
been recommended thatsite specific conservation
measures be taken by therespective government
under the regional black
necked crane conservation
framework and regional
level policy and advocacy
for the protection of thecranes.
Speaking at theworkshop, Tshering
Phuntsho from the
p11
Royal Society fordealing
nationthe week that’s gone

Shitake Mushroom togrow in Bhutan
A Japanese-based mushroom production
company, Haruka International, in
collaboration with Druk Holding andInvestments is soon going to initiate its
pilot project to start mushroom cultivation
program in the country.
The project has chosen Shitake
mushroom for their first pilot project and it
is expected to improve farmers’ income fivefold.
Haruka International holds the reputationof inculcating modern technology inmushroom cultivation.
A memorandum of understanding signed
between the two partners chose Shitake
mushroom as it was recognised to have many
health benefits.

Joint Legal Sector
Programme worth
Nu.174 M launched
The Government of Bhutan, Austria andSwitzerland launched a Joint Legal Sector
Programme worth Nu.174 M.
The programme will fund construction of
two district courts in Punakha and Wangdue
Phodrang and will also provide scholarships
for 10 master programmes in legal fieldat renowned universities in Austria andSwitzerland.
It is the consecutive phase of the previous
two joint programme funded by Switzerland
and Austria.
The programme was launched by the
Secretary of the Gross National HappinessCommission, resident coordinator ofAustrian Development Cooperation, and thehead of Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation.

His Majesty the King
visited Sarpang town

Business
BhutanFEBRUary 21, ‘15

p02

IOC will consider going
extra mile in help
Krishna Ghalley
from Thimphu
Apart from installing storage tanks and dispensing
units at the existing retail
outlets run by distributors,
the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) willconsider building otherfacilities like constructionof driveway, canopy, salesbuilding on strategic locations based on reasonable
return on investment andon achievement of requisite sales volumes.
This was agreed
during the signing ofMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
the Officiating Directorof Department of Trade
Dophu Tshering and the
Executive Director of West
Bengal State Office Yashvir
Kumar Gupta on behalf of
IOCL on February 17 in
the capital.
Those facilities
constructed and the equipments, machineries, etc.
installed by IOC at the retail outlets will remain theproperties of IOC which
can be dismantled or takenout without hindrance inthe future. Also both theparties agreed that thecommercial terms like
supply and payments to be
decided mutually between

fied by the Oil Industry
Ministry of Petroleum of
Indian government andthe Bhutanese government
time to time. The price will
be revised time to time as
per IOC’s decision.
IOC also agreed to
conduct minimum two
seminars in a year to
educate the Bhutanese customers including training
on safety aspects and handling, operational aspects
of products at the retail
outlets. The agreement
was first signed in 2005 andrenewed in 2010 for theterm of five years.
Currently, IOC supplies Bharat Stage (BS)III equivalent to Euro 3
standard fuel to all thecountry. The company
assure to supply improved
and upgraded BS IV orEuro 4 standard fuel from
April this year. “And we will
supply BS V in 2020,” Yashvir Kumar Gupta said.
Last year, the country
imported 166,433.64 Kilo
Liter (KL) of petroleum
products worth 8,432.66
mn which was decreasedby 1.7 percent. “It is mainly
due to the quality of fuel,”
said Yashvir Kumar Gupta
adding that government’splans on banning vehicle imports had added
impacts.

the dealers of MoEA andIOC after signing a separate agreement.
The current dealersof IOC appointed by the
Ministry of Economic
Affairs are Bhutan Oil Corporation (BOC), Bhutan
Oil Distributor (BOD),
Druk Petroleum Corporation Limited (DPCL),
Damchen Petroleum
Distributors (DPD), andBhutan Industrial Gas(BIG) which markets the
petroleum products acrossthe country.
Motor Spirit, High
Speed Diesel (HSD) andbranded fuels will be delivered at Phuentsholing,
Gomtu and Samtse fromIOC’s depot at Hasimara,
Bongaigaon terminal to
Gelephu and Guwahati
terminal to Samdrup Jongkhar.
The IOC assured tosupply the products ontime as demanded by the
MoEA’s dealers upon thefulfillment of the commercial terms. The dealers willprocure other products
from the IOC’s designatedsupply points through own
transport.
The dealers will also
sign agreements with IOCfrom time to time. IOC
also agreed to supply the
petroleum products speci-

Drukgreen Power Corporation Limited
Kurichhu Hydropower Plant
Gyelpozhing,
Mongar: Bhutan

NIT No.DGPC/KHPT/TSO/TD-04/2015/6731

DISPOSAL TENDER NOTICE
His Majesty the King visited Sarpang Town,
where fire damaged the shops and huts, andmet with the people.
His Majesty granted a separate Audienceto the heads of the affected families. His
Majesty commended the government, armed
forces, BIFA and Desuups for wholeheartedly
assisting the office of the Gyalpoi Zimpon inadministering relief efforts immediately after
the disaster.
His Majesty expressed deepest empathy
for the affected people, who are from both
Bhutan and across the border, for having lost
so much.
After granting them an opportunity todescribe their needs and difficulties, His
Majesty reassured the people that everything
would be done to find ways to ease their
troubles.The affected families were granted
Royal Semso.

Kurichu Hydropower Plant (KHP), Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd., (DCPL) announces
the sale of old assets that are lying in KHP, Main Store, through sealed bids. The old assets
are categorized into 17 Lots. Interested bidders are requested to inspect the items lying at
KHP, main store as per the list of items attached in the bidding documents.
The complete set of bidding documents shall be on sale from February 17,2015 toMarch 19, 2015 on all working days upon payment of non –refundable fee of Nu.500.00(Ngultrum five hundred) only from the office of the Superintending Engineer, Kurichu
Hydropower Plant, Gyelpozhing, Mongar during the office hours. Bidding documents canbe also be downloaded from DGPC’s web site (www.drukgreen.bt) free of cost.
Bids shall be received up to 14:30 hrs on or before March 19, 2015 and shall be openedon same day at 15:00hrs.
Kurichu Hydropower Plant, DGPC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid party or
fully or cancel the bidding process without assigning any reasons thereof and in suchcase no Bidder/intending Bidder shall have any claim arising out of such action of DGPC.

Superintending Engineer

DEALING
NATIONBusiness
BhutanFEBRUary 21, ‘15

p04

BIL launches Students Care Insurance
Alka Katwal
from Thimphu
Bhutan Insurance Limited(BIL) launched the Student
Care Insurance policy on
February 17.
Also known as Lopthru
Nyenchoel, the Student
Care Insurance policy
provides cover to the school
and college going students
and serves as a backup forstudents’ education in theevent of accidental mishapof their parent or guardian
at a nominal premium.
“Parents or guardians
can avail this policy for

their children who are
studying, similarly students
aged 18 and above, as
well as educational andvocational institutes, canalso avail the policy,” said
Kalyan Humagai, General
Manager, Bhutan Insurance
Limited.
The Student Care policy covers two perils for boththe parent and student
which include Accidental
Demise and Permanent
Total Disability, a first of its
kind in the country.
The Parent or guardian up to the age of 65 canavail this policy for theirschool going children
from Kindergarten toclass twelve, and similarlycollege students up to age
25 can avail this policy
themselves.
The staring premiumfor school student will
be Nu. 225 for the sum
insured of Nu.50, 000. The
maximum sum insured will
be up to Nu.100,000 with
the increase amount of premium correspondingly.
Similarly the staring
premium for college student will be Nu.450 for thesum insured amount forNu.100,000. The maximum

Japanese Mushroom, Bhutanese
farmers
Krishna Ghalley
from Thimphu
Good news for mushroom
fans comes all the way fromJapan, in the form of a project to boost its cultivationback at home.
Haruka International,
a Japan-based Mushroomcompany in collaboration with Alliance Forum
Foundation (AFF) and theagriculture department will
promote the project thatwill help the Bhutanese
farmers to boost mushroom
cultivation in the country.
The Chairman ofHaruka International Kusuo
Inoue and Druk Holding
and Investments (DHI)
Chairman, Sangay Khandu
signed a Memorandum of
understanding in the capitalon February 17 toward thisventure.
The company withfunding from Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) has completed theinitial research in the country. The company will teachfarmers how to make theseeds and implement theknowledge related to themushroom cultivation.
“If the farmers workwith interest and hardwork,
their income would increase
five folds of the present

income,” said the Chairmanof Haruka International
Kusuo Inoue.
The project will be
implemented in threephases, Pilot, Business Start
up and Expansion phase.
In the pilot phase about
1,200 spawn bags will be
brought from Japan for thetrial production at National
Mushroom Centre (NMC)
in the capital.
One expert from Japan
will operate the activities
which will be carried out by
the NMC staffs.
Oyster (Pleurotus
ostreatus), Auricularia(Auricularia auricula-judae), known as the Jew’s
ear, wood ear, jelly ear,
Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes), King Oyster
mushroom (Pleurotus
eryngii) also known as kingtrumpet mushroom or
French horn mushroom,
king oyster mushroom will
be produced for farmers’
income generation and job
creation.
The company willproduce mushroom using NMC initially. The
company after measuring
the success of the productwill take the farmers toJapan for further training.
Haruka International will
give the initial training to

the farmers for 10 days
to two weeks for the basic
know hows on mushroom
cultivation.
“Bhutan has huge
scope for the mushroom
cultivation,” the Chairman
said.
The Pilot phase will initially start from April thisyear. Depending upon themushroom types its harvest
will be done on from June
to November. The next
phase depends upon the
success of the pilot phase.
“If the pilot production is
success to all the parties,
then we will decide to start
our business,” said Deputy
Programme Manager of Alliance Forum Foundation,
Japan Hideki Fukamachi.
The mushroom both
fresh and dry will be produced both for domestic
consumption and export.
With the limited
resources and manpower,
the Programme Directorof National Mushroom
Centre Dawa Penjor, said
the Bhutanese farmers areunable to enhance theirknowledge on mushroom.
“Mushroom has beentaken as a side business by
our rural community,” hesaid.
In the 10th Plan thecentre had calculated thesum insured will be up to
Nu.200,000 with the increase amount of premium
correspondingly.
Education ministry
director general, Karma
Yeshey, who attended thelaunch, said life was unpredictable therefore suchpolicies would indeed bea boon and save children’s
future.
In the event of parent/
guardian claim due to covered perils, the allowance
will be paid according to
the sum insured over a period of four years without
having to renew the policy

which is expected to assist
the student to continue
their education.
Further, the insured
student is also covered fordemise and permanent
disability due to accident to
the tune of 60% of the sum
insured.
Bhutan Insurance
was initiated in 2009 andprovides non-life insurance
products for individuals, corporate bodies andsmall and medium size
enterprise throughout thecountry. Today BIL provides more than 20 various
schemes and policies.

mushroom production of
300 grams per block a year
which constitutes only 20
percent, grown outside.
“It is because ourmushroom structures are
not good. Temperatureand humidity content is
not good,” Dawa Penjor
said adding that the centre
use ordinary structures
where temperature andhumidity control is absent.
For commercial
cultivation, the centre hasrecommended permanent structures with theBusiness Opportunities
and Information Centre(BOIC)’s support. Initialinvestment for mushroom
cultivation is high for the
procurement of raw materials and the structureswith the high runningcosts said the Programme
Director.
“We need to have suitable structures according
to the climate,” he said.
An elevation of 1000
to 2000m above sea level isconsidered the ideal place
for mushroom cultivationin Bhutan. The vicinity ofthe market and cost of raw
materials also impacts themushroom cultivation said
the Programme Director.
Also he said that marketing
is difficult with fewer products from the Bhutanese
farmers.
“They produce only up
to 100 kilograms per week,
for which marketing is difficult,” he said.
Around 1000 MetricTones (MT) of mushrooms
has been imported lastyear. DHI as a joint venturewith the Japanese company
will create a supply chain
in the market supplying
constantly in the market.
Commercial mushroom
cultivation creates market
to the farmers and the customers. Also the farmers
can sell to other customers
at the higher rate and rest
DHI will take the who will
supply in the market.
The current market
price of Shiitake mushroom is 700nu a kilogram.
“But the quality ofthe mushroom will be
improved,” said Hideko
Fukamachi which will fetch
the farmers better prices.
Shiitake mushroom arevalued five times higher
than the price in Bhutan in
Dubai and the Netherlands
according to the company’s research. Also thecompany is working with
the Netherlands.
The DHI, which will be
an implementing agency,
has agreed to cooperate.
“Initially the mushroom will be cultivatedfor trial and depending
upon the demand, the realcultivation will start,” said
Programme Director Dawa
Penjor.
NMC will bridge thegap between the joint venture and the mushroom
growers. Also the centre
will support and help thefarmers.