Cement plant to make Nganaglm a business hub

8 March 2010

The construction of mega Dungsam Cement Corpo­ration Limited (DCCL) in Pemagatshel is in full swing promising many economic opportunities for the local communities. As part of the project, the 15-km road from Indo-Bhutan border to the project site at Chenkari is being broadened to two lanes. Broadening of the road, which is expected to be complete by mid April this year, has been delayed by a few...  Read the story »

Nganglam finally gets a bank

5 March 2010

Opening of a Bank of Bhutan (BoB) branch in Nganglam in Pemagatshel last month is expected to benefit civil ser­vants, business community and the public of the dung­khag. After repeated requests by the public and dungkhag ad­ministration for more than two years, BoB opened the branch coinciding with the 30th birth anniversary of His Majesty the King on February 21. According to a civil servant,...  Read the story »

Keeping customers pouring in for 25 years

23 February 2010

About two hours drive from Gelephu to Samdrup Jong­khar on national highway 31C at Chapaguri in the Indi­an state of Assam is Hotel Hi­malaya, an eatery exclusively for Bhutanese travellers. The 80-seater hotel is packed with travellers, and most of the time customers have to eat standing. The 25-year-old hotel ca­ters to over 1,000 Bhutanese travellers every day. It was started when Bhutan Post...  Read the story »

Dungsum cement to borrow Nu 4.1 billion

21 February 2010

The cabinet this week ap­proved Dungsam Cement Company Limited’s (DCCL) proposal to borrow Nu 4.1 billion to finance the biggest cement project in the country at Nganglam in Pemagatshel targeted to be complete by March 2012. Nu 2.1 billion will be bor­rowed from Bhutanese finan­cial institutions and Nu 2 bil­lion through a syndication of public sector banks through the State Bank of India Capi­tal...  Read the story »

Ginger yield slumps in Pemathang

19 February 2010

Over the years, a strange dis­ease has hampered ginger yield in Pemathang Gewog in Samdrupcholing Dungkhag, Samdrup Jongkhar. The gewog was once fa­mous for ginger production. In the past, Pemathang farm­ers would sell over 20 truck­loads of ginger in a season but last year, the yield decreased to only four truckloads. This year, the farmers are hoping for a moderate yield. A mon (40 kg) of seed...  Read the story »

Jersey cows to reduce poverty

15 February 2010

Forty-four poor farmers of Ngangla Gewog in Panbang were provided a milking Jersey cow each at a heavily subsidised price through the Rural Livelihood Project in October last year. The farm­ers paid only 30 percent of the cost while the remaining cost was borne by the govern­ment. The rural livelihood proj­ect, which was aimed at re­ducing rural poverty, bought the cattle for the farmers to enable...  Read the story »

Mind your language in business

13 February 2010

If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture? When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment. After surveying an orchard, Ap Dorji met the owner and inquired about...  Read the story »

Branding khamti rice

12 February 2010

Bangtar Khamti rice, consid­ered to be the finest rice in the country, will be soon avail­able in five and 10 kg packets in Samdrup Jongkhar. Initiated by Sonam Wang­di, a local businessman from Phuntshothang Gewog in Samdrupcholing Dungkhag, with support from the Min­istry of Agriculture (MOA), the branding is expected to expand the market of Khamti rice and boost the income of Pemathang and Phunt­shothang...  Read the story »

Hazelnut promise excites farmers

7 February 2010

   Come summer, and some of the barren, fallow and eroded land in the eastern dzong­khags will come under hazel­nut plantation, which has the potential to change the lives of the subsistence farmers. This was revealed by Daniel K Spitzer of Mountain Hazelnut Venture (MHV), a US-based company, during his visit to potential hazelnut growing areas in Pemagatshel this week. The hazelnut project in­tends...  Read the story »

Rural Panbang meets its own bank

6 February 2010

   The opening of Bhutan De­velopment Finance Corpora­tion Limited (BDFCL) branch in Panbang Dungkhag in No­vember last year has eased financial transactions in the dungkhag. The dungkhag’s close prox­imity to the Indian border and frequent strikes in the neighbouring Indian states create problems for financial transactions, and carrying cash across the Indian states is risky. The need for...  Read the story »

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