This our Shangri-La

Wai! It’s about time we stopped vaunting about ourselves too much. We ought to think in earnest where we are going wrong. Some deep soul-searching will do us vastly good. Our little Shangri-La is not all that happy.

While chasing for rapid economic growth we have not only gathered wealth but managed to create a deep crevasse between haves and have-nots along the way.  Surely, that wasn’t the dream of our visionaries. Contentment and happiness enjoyed by a prosperous few is no happiness total.

Our cities and towns are seeing the growth of several slums and crude shelter dwellings. It is ironic that in the pretty capital of one of the happiest countries in the world so many people are being pushed out of the society, into the ghettos, year after year.

Why do slums come up indeed? The answer is blowing in the wind. Our development plans and efforts do not seem to include the sizable number of our poor and vulnerable people who cannot afford a decent shelter over their heads. Poverty, which is largely a rural phenomenon as yet, is shifting. It is creeping into the urban centres.

And this is our welfare society, our all right and blissful Shangri-La. Its narrative is a bit too poignant, a bit too embarrassing. It is about time our policymakers and development pundits got down to the ground and saw why so many people are being driven to the fringe.

6 Responses to “This our Shangri-La”

1. Lhamu says:

   February 1, 2012 at 3:37 pm

   High House Rents makes us unhappy because we can not afford within our income level. The houseowners make us go hungry although they are happy to receive high rents from poor pockets.

   This unanswered problems needs to be looked into.

   Reply
2. Wangchu says:

   February 1, 2012 at 3:46 pm

   Isn’t there any company to contruct and rent an affordable housing please. All are talking about affordable housing within their income so that we are happy and content and contribute to happiness of all. Housing is one of the necessiated things that we humanbeings must have for our happiness living among others like foods and clothings.

   Reply
3. Tsering says:

   February 2, 2012 at 11:12 am

   I will be happy if I could get a decent house to live within my income level. The only HIGH house rent is washing-away all my happiness. Otherwise, I am a religious-minded one with contentment with what I have and try to live within what I earn. But the pressing living high cost makes us unhappy and most of the time go hungry.

   Reply
4. Tshangpo says:

   February 2, 2012 at 11:37 am

   One thing we have observed is, everything(especially housing) is made free for those who can amply afford and for those who cannot they are made to a pressured situation to pay/bear unaffordably.

   Needs to study and looked into by authority concerned. This is economical issues which make big differences between haves and have-nots thereby making some more happy and some more unhappy. Say inequality in our happines tools.

   Reply
5. Nim Dem says:

   February 3, 2012 at 1:34 pm

   Am a happy person with all but made me desparate of not finding a affordable quarter to live. 70% of my salary goes to only house rent. I could not understand why this is so making quite unaffordable. This unaffordability make me very sad.

   Reply
6. Singye says:

   February 3, 2012 at 4:02 pm

   Battle between Income level and high living cost do not make us happy. Economicians must look into this trend and solve it.

   Reply