SARBHANG

Jan 28, 2009: Although the first year of the tenth five-year plan has expired, geogs in Sarpang dzongkhag have started to push forward their action plans. Chuzergang was the first geog to hold meetings yesterday to discuss plans and programmes worth Nu  2,000,000 in consultation with the public. The meeting discussed various developmental issues affecting the lives of the people. Like most of the geogs in the dzongkhag, the  issue of safe drinking water is a serious problem. According to the gup, a large chunk of the budget will be used for providing safe drinking water for three chiwogs which are most hit by water crisis.A project, that will include construction of a 500- cubic meter water tank in Chasker,  has been approved during the current financial year, to solve the problem of acute water shortage in the four chiwogs, according to the Chuzergang gup. Farm road has been seen as the most important and immediate need of the people of the geog.  Nu 200,000 will be utilized from the budget to construct a three-kilometer farm road according to the chairperson of Geog Yargay Tshogdu. Public raised the concern over the uneven labour contribution by the residents as many of the villagers were reluctant to contribute labour.  “Every household should contribute labour equally,” said a resident of the geog.One of the major issues discussed in the meeting was the difficulty in collecting tax by the geog office. More than 60 households live away from the geog and do not pay annual taxes and insurances, according to the chairperson of the meeting. The gup said that the tenth plan in the geog would be unique from the current development year. According to him, work will be divided and distributed among the people of the geog for easy implementation and faster completion. “It will be very much decentralized,” he said. However, the details of the plan will be finalized by the GYT. There are 458 households in nine chiwogs with more than 90% resettlement population.

Written by M.B. Subba, Gelephu 

in Bhutan Today

Karma Donnen Wangdi 

Total Votes received during 2008 elections: 5,968

Karma D Wangdi, 37, is from Gelephu having legal background. He is from a well to do family. His father, a landlord, owns the maximum land in Sarpang and is a popular and influential figure. He is but an easterner. He is married to Lhotsampa, Kalpana Humagain.  

Wangdi's father was the Gelephu dzongda back in the 1980s. Karma is appreciated for his oratory skills and was soccer during the college years. 

He has post graduated with distinction from Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands. He also holds a post graduate in information technology from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. 

He worked as the deputy director of information and communication division with the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industries and is a topper from a batch of students who undertook militia training in 1989.

Constituency: Gelephu; Total voters: 9427

Name: Prem Kumar Gurung

Political Party: Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT)

Votes received during 2008 elections: 6398

Mr. Prem Kumar Gurung represents Gelephu Constituency, Sarpang as the Candidate of Druk Phuensum Tshogpa. He graduated from Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College, Allahabad, India in 1985 with Bachelors of Engineering. In 1986, he joined his service as Assistant Engineer and climbed the ladder until he was promoted to Executive Engineer in 2002. He was associated with urban development, sewage systems and river embankment works including paramount work on industrial estates’ planning and development. Prem joins the Party with immense knowledge and experiences in human settlement, environmental planning, communication skills, low cost housing, use of global position system and geographical information systems. He is married and they have two sons.

Constituency: Shompangkha; Total voters: 7995

Name: Nandalal Rai

Political Party: Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT)

Votes received during 2008 elections: 4879

Maj. (Redt) N. L. Rai represents Shompangkha Constituency, Sarpang as the Candidate of Druk Phuensum Tshogpa. He graduated his Bachelors of Arts in 1975 from NDA, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and obtained his Masters in Science in 1990 from University of Madras. He joined as a cadet officer and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in RBA in 1976. He has worked in various capacities as Platoon and Company Commander and the Chief Administrative Officer and took a voluntary resignation in 2003. He was awarded Indian Military Academy "Gold Medal" for Best Sportsman of the Year 1976. His thorough discipline in the defense abounds him with ample experience in organization and management skills that will be highly benefiting the Party. He is married and they have a daughter and a son. He is currently serving as Information and Communication Minister in DPT cabinet.

Sarbhang (renamed as Sarpang) Dzongkhag is allocated 2 seats in the National Assembly with the constituencies delineated as per the existing boundaries of the Gelephu Dungkhag and the other Gewogs together.

Accordingly, Dekiling, Dovan, Hilley, Sengye and Shompangkha Gewogs form the Shompangkha Constituency while Bhur, Chuzargang, Gelephu,Jigmechholing, Shershong, Taklai and Umling Gewogs form the Gelephu Constituency as shown in the map.

14 January, 2009 - A group of seven armed men robbed a house in Dolungang village under Dekiling gewog, Sarpang, on January 10 and threatened to kill the inhabitants if they reported the matter to authorities. 

According to police, the seven men, armed with guns, broke into the house of Wangda at around 7 pm and took away cooking utensils and 30 kg of rice when they could not find anything else. Two of the men were masked.

The men claimed to have come from the camps in eastern Nepal and claimed that the land, where Wangda had settled, belonged to their father. “They warned Wangda to vacate the land the next day or face death as a consequence,” said the police source. The men also demanded information on the village volunteers deployed to guard villages in the gewog.