Male Iron Rat Year

Neten Dorji | Trashigang

Astrologers predicted heavy rainfall and terrible windstorm in the year of the Rat. Looking back, the predictions came true for Trashigang and Trashiyangtse.

A windstorm damaged maize fields of more than 33 households of Khaling gewog, Trashigang. Continuous rain for seven days worsened the condition of the fields in three chiwogs of Khaling. 

On October 4 evening, a windstorm devastated maize and paddy in four villages of Toedtsho gewog in Trashiyangtse. 

Heavy rains in July washed away Kangpara gewog centre road leaving the gewog cut off for more than two months. 

Trashigang dzongkhag was in both mainstream and social media on the assault case in Wamrong Drungkhag. Wamrong drungkhag court later handed a compoundable sentence of 18 months prison term to the drangpon’s wife for battering the wife of the cleaner of the court. 

The drangpon’s wife also appealed to Trashigang dzongkhag court on five grounds against the lower court’s judgment. The court is yet to issue its judgment. 

The year of the Rat also saw the conflict between the decision of the government and the Dzongkhag Tshogdu (DT). A group of highlanders from Merak appealed to the Prime Minister against DT’s decision. DT had resolved to blacktop the Merak gewog centre (GC) road from Chaling. 

After the Gross National Happiness Commission clarified its stand on Merak GC road, the government decided to blacktop the road from Khardung. Later, the representative of Shongphu and Chaling appealed to Trashigang court, if the government’s decision to blacktop the road from Khardung has violated the DT’s decision. 

Three days later, the court dismissed the petition. On the same day, the DT agreed to comply with the government’s decision. 

In Trashiyangtse, the dzongkhag court sentenced the Bumdeling Gup Yeshi Dorji to three years prison term for forgery.  He was elected as the new gup after a bye-election in September 2019. 

With the gup sentenced to prison, Bumdeling gewog elected its third gup, Phub Thinley from Gangkhardung. The first Bumdeling gup, Mani Wangdra, who was elected in 2016 was sent to jail for 12 years for raping a minor girl. 

Six years after the foundation stone was laid on, the government and the Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited (KHEL) signed the first joint venture (JV) hydropower project agreement between Bhutan and India. The 600MW run-of-the-river project is expected to generate about 2,568.88 million (M) units annually. 

Meanwhile, villagers of Rinchengang, Chimsaningpa and Khaber were unhappy having been forced to be part of the thromde. They petitioned twice to the authorities to exclude them from the town’s extended boundary. The decision remains.