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Bars boom in Bhutan

28 March 2009

If a person in Bhutan wants to get a drink, the person is lucky. For, though Bhutan is a small country, it has a large number of bars.

There are different kinds of bars. You see them everywhere, from tiny ones snuck in some dark corner of a shady building to the posh bars. People different ages from both the sexes frequent numerous these bars.

According to the Department of Industries under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there are a total 6529 bars in Bhutan. Of these, 4655 bars are operational. Thimphu alone has 1422 bars. There are about 800 bars in Thimphu which are operational. These are the provisional figures as of December 2008.

The cost of a bar licence is from Nu 3000 to Nu 15,000. It differs depending on the classification of towns. Class A towns have to pay Nu 15,000, Class B towns Nu 10,000 and Class C towns have to pay Nu 5000. The rest which do not fall in to these categories have to pay Nu 3000 as licence fees.

The licence fee has to be paid every year. Though the fee in Thimphu is 15,000, there is no stopping the growth of bars. There are bars everywhere. TDSC building, opposite Hotel Tashi Taj, alone has 10 bars.

Jambay Zangmo, the owner of Tashi Tage Drayang, says that business is normal but they have fewer customers these days. They stay open till 11 pm.

“Most of our customers are working people,” she said.

Tenzin Phuntshok, the owner of Rumours, a karaoke- cum-bar, in Jojos building in Thimphu, said that most of his regular customers are graduates and working people.

“If under-aged students come in and ask for drinks, I ask them to leave,” he said.

CLASS A Towns Thimphu, Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Samdrup Jongkhar
CLASS B Towns Paro, Mongar, Trashigang, Samtse
CLASS C Towns Punakha, Bumthang, Nganglam, Zhemgang, Kanglung, Haa, Daifam, Damphu, Trashiyangtse, Pemagatshel,
Dagana, Gomtu, Trongsa, Lhamoizhingkha, Dewathang, Wangdue, Lhuentse, Tingtibi, Tsimakoti,
Gedu

BY PHUNTSHO WANGMO

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Posted by Chime · Filed Under About Town, News 

Comments

3 Responses to “Bars boom in Bhutan”

  1. karma on March 28th, 2009 8:02 pm

    What good will come out this growing bars………?
    our people go crazy drinking and junking on the way midnight beating wife and kids…… thrifting money on women etc………….

    Why don’t you guys ship at home be in peace and ejoy great time of bliss and blessing with wife and children…………………..

    I tell you the destruction is wating ahead……… anything over doing will trun things…………

  2. phuntsho on March 29th, 2009 3:11 pm

    I really don’t understand what makes some one to classify Samdrup .Jongkhar town under Class A Town. Look at it closely it is not fit to be called a town.We enjoy the bare minimum of town facility.If s/jONGKHAR is class a then by comparison Thimphu should be A ++++++……………………………………………………Because of it’s town A status, I think because of the shabby Daranga ( just outside the gate(INDIA) DUSTY LOCAL MARKET FACILITY SEE GEDU COMES UNDER CLASS C AND WHY BUMTHANG AND PUNAKHA UNDER CLASS B. WHAt are the criteria please hightlight

  3. shane on November 7th, 2009 10:09 pm

    hey good to no that a person dosent have to travel very far to get a drink in bhutan hope i get my girl friend back and dont end up drinking to much

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