Punasangchhu-I: Nu.93.75 Billion and Rising!
BBS, Bhutan’s national broadcaster reports:India approves PHPA I’s new cost estimate of Nu 93.75B (http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=52340).That is very bighearted of India. But what of Bhutan, the bigger...
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India Finds Bhutanese Electricity Too Expensive!
TheBhutanese newspaper reports that Tata Power Trading Company (TPTC) is facing hard times selling electricity generated by Dagachu Hydropower Project. The company is unable to sell our electricity in...
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Yet Another Disastrous DPR In The Planning?
Even while the country is still reeling under the shock and frustration of discovering the pathetic quality of DPR carried out in the Punasangchhu-I project, resulting in losses amounting to billions...
View ArticleNeither ill will nor malice
Omair - a friend and an author based in Delhi wrote an interesting article today, on India-Bhutan relations and what ails...
View ArticleThe Khazanchi Doctrine: Cost + Revenue = Income
In the article by Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) dated July 29, 2015, headlined “Deadline extension could cost the government time and money”, the reporter writes:“The government could lose a...
View ArticleNeither Greed Nor Corruption
In the ongoing debacle of the Punasangchhu Projects I & II, some are baying for the blood of Khazanchi. I wonder how that is going to solve our problems? In any event, how can a single person be...
View ArticlePunasangchhu Project I & II right on track!
I am truly encouraged by what Mr. Abhay Thakur, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Governemnt of India told the Kuensel on 4th August, 2015. He is quoted to have said:“ ……. the...
View ArticleTourism Industry: The early warning signs of imminent disaster
It does not take a Nostradamus to predict that the recently initiated haphazard road widening work is going to cause irreparable damage to our tourism industry. But I am shocked by the alacrity with...
View ArticleTourism Industry: The early warning signs of imminent disaster: II
I just returned from a quick trip to Phobjikha and Gangtey Goenpa.The road widening works between Semtokha and Lobesa has been going on for over 15 years and yet, most of it is still in complete...
View ArticleBhutan's Tourism Industry Under Attack!
Bhutan and the Bhutanese people are slowly but surely falling into the dragnet of some evil power that is masterminding some strangely unbelievable occurrences that defy logic. I am convinced that some...
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Bhutan Parliamentarians on a funny trip
A friend in India just sent me the following news clipping. It is my ardent hope that our Parliamentarians were too thick skinned to have not learned anything from their Indian counterparts :)-Imagine...
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Our Rivers of Doom
The emergence of the earliest human civilizations dating back to 8,000 BC can be traced to banks of rivers. Unfortunately, some of these very rivers that have for centuries supported and sustained...
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Our Rivers of Doom II
So, tell me, how many of you know of the existence of a Master Plan for the number and location of hydro-power projects in Bhutan? Don't look crestfallen - I too did not know. May be our government...
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Our Rivers of Doom III
For a long time, there were certain anomalies surrounding the hydropower projects in Bhutan that baffled me. It just simply did not make sense. In particular, the following three had me completely...
View ArticleOur Rivers of Doom IV
According to French intelligence, just before 9/11, the US told the Taliban that they would either get “a carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs” - the former if they agreed to allow the US to run an oil...
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Our River of Hope
Ours has been a long, long journey of hope, and of optimism. Since the time the spark of hope was ignited in 1974 when the first agreement on hydro-power was signed between Bhutan and India, the dream...
View ArticleThe Dark Side of Our Hydropower Projects
The hydro-power dream merchants who are wont to put out the falsehood that the hydro-power projects are good for the country and the Dzongkhags where they are located may wish to consider the...
View ArticleThe Dark Side Of Our Hydropower Projects II
I am neither on FaceBook, nor on the Tweeter. Thus, I am not privy to the substance or the direction of discussions happening there - but I am told that a huge ruckus is being kicked up there. That is...
View ArticleThe Dark Side Of Our Hydropower Projects III
I am truly amazed by the arguments put forward by some Khengpas in defense of their support for damming the Chhamkhar Chhu for a hydro-power project on it. By the way, I am a Khengpa too. Despite a...
View ArticleThe Dark Side Of Our Hydropower Projects IV
Why have our hydro-power projects gone so horribly wrong? I think the answer lies in history. Take a look at the following: Chhukha Hydropower Project Started : 1974 Status :...
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