In Loving Memory Of My Late Aunt

Last Saturday one of my cousins posted a photograph of her late mother - who was also the mother of late Dasho Tsering Wangda. I am clueless as to why she decided to do that - but it set into motion a train of loving, warm thoughts in my mind … going back all the way to 1959, the year I was first enrolled in Zhemgang school.

My late Aunt Yangzom

I recall that I used to get regularly spanked by her - for stealing her stock of sugar, in connivance with her eldest daughter - we used to sneak away and munch the raw white sugar - YUCK!

Amazingly, now that I recollect, she used to run a small shop as far back as 1959 - until now, I had held the view that Tashi Group had pioneered business/shop keeping in Bhutan. Although the official website of Tashi Group states that the Group was formed in 1959, I was told, in no uncertain terms, by a RAW agent from Nagaland, that Dasho Rimp actually started business sometime in 1958.

I was my late aunt Yangzom’s most favorite nephew - she loved me dearly - perhaps even more than her own children. Every once in a while, to counter the occasional bickering by my other close relatives in the family, she would warn them:

"Ngai Yishi Dooji na zhang labtoh mechok warey win gungpo – gonoi la gamigumi burang mibu – ngui kaachen buzey bran!"

(Don’t any one of you dare - none of you are permitted to speak ill of my Yishi Dooji - I know very well that he will do no wrong).

Sometime in 1990 I had some cash to spare … so I wanted by buy some land to build a house. Well, my late cousin Dasho Wangda had a substantial land holding at Langjopakha …. so I asked him to sell me some of it - I was willing to pay any asking price. But months passed and while he did not refuse outright, he would not commit to sell me either - perhaps under the influence of others or for whatever reason.

I ran out of patience …. So one day I drove down to Gelephu where his mother, my aunt, was domiciled - to complain to her that her son was not selling me a piece of his land that I wanted.

She said:

"Doesh khith ---- Ngui labcho ---- migey tokpamen ra. Wera loktse galai … ngui ra cho khitna labtoh".

(OK … you just wait ... I will deal with him … you go back … I will come and talk to him … may be others are influencing him ….)

Few days later … my aunt turned up in Thimphu and got Dasho Wangda and me together. She thundered at Dasho Wangda:

"Waith aatoh buzey Yishi Dooji na saa mibiloyo - waithna sa lungtoh na - dararung biyo - waith gong awrey goparey bigey rey. Werai noh wen minya, aaah …. Rig machiigpai mi ney min - werai noh wenta --- dararung biyo wera, wartii!"

(Why aren’t you selling a small piece of land to Yishi Dooji … you have more than enough --- he is willing to pay any asking price …. Give him now - he is not a stranger to you - he is your brother - give him now, immediately!!!)

End of matter - it took a little arm twisting - but I got my land 😛 - curtesy of my late aunt who headed one branch of the Taagma Doong family.

PHPA-I: Step-by-Step Record of An Impending Catastrophe's Journey

To date, I have 78 articles (including this one) on the subject related to Bhutan's hydropower projects. For years, I have been hollering for the shutting down of the PHPA-I. My fear is that should the dam ever gets built - the provability of it failing cannot be ruled out. If this happens, it will sweep away the PHPA-II downstream of it, and everything else - all the way to the Bay of Bengal - to serve as fish feed.

Nature has given us warnings – again and again and again, but we are adamant and the project is still standing, regardless.

Sinking, sinking and sinking!!! ... The PHPA-I & II are located in seismically hazardous zone.

Not only nature … but even human experts have warned us. One of them is supposed to have declared thus:

Dr. Yash Pal Shardha, a retired senior Engineering Geologist from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) is on record, as follow:

“This project is the best example of deceit and dishonesty by project people. A very good investigative Detailed Project Report at one place was done but the project was shifted to another place without conducting any investigation and whatever investigations were done were cooked up data knowing fully well we are going to face problems and we went for the tender stage and drilled a few holes and the project started for construction and now see fate of the project and will it ever be completed.”

And yet, despite all that, the Project is still standing. The Project authorities adamantly refuse to heed nature’s warnings …. they blatantly ignore qualified expert's views! Well, no matter …. I am still hollering! - if not in the hope that it will make any difference - but for the sake of posterity. When the shit finally hits the fan, the Project authorities cannot feign ignorance - they have been forewarned!

Let me walk you through the following step-by-step journey of the doomed Project:

October 1, 2007

The Constitution of the Punatsangchu Hydro Power Authority (PHPA-I) is approved by the Royal Government of Bhutan.

2008

Shifting the PHPA-I’s Dam Site proposed and Accepted

R. N. Khazanchi (although he became MD of the PHPA only in 2009, he was given additional charge of PHPA-I even while he was still serving as MD of Tala Project). This explains why he is named as the person responsible for making the recommendations to shift the original dam site. He offered the excuse that doing so would result in more power generation - by as much as 105MW. He further reasoned that the depth of the dam would be lesser by 45 Mtrs.

Based on his recommendations, the Bhutanese Cabinet approved the shifting of the construction of the PHPA-I dam to the new site - at the current unstable location - roughly 1.5 KMs upstream of the original site.

Strangely, no one seems to have questioned that such an important and impactful decision was being made - without carrying out a proper geological study/investigation of the new dam site.

November 11, 2008

Implementation of the Project begins - with a completion date set for 2016.

2009: Appointment of the Project’s CEO

Mr. Rajinder Nath Khazanchi is appointed Managing Director of PHPA.

2011

The first sign of instability was detected on the right abutment of the dam site.

2012

In recognition and appreciation of his dedicated service, and for his contributions to the country’s socio-economic development, R. N. Khazanchi is awarded Druk Thuksey.

July, 2013

First slide on the right bank of the dam occurs.

Strangely, monitoring of both the surface and subsurface was started only from January 2015 - after two long years of the occurrence of the ominous slide.

August, 2016

Another slide occurs.

April, 2018

R. N. Khanchi’s term with the PHPA ends. But before he departs, he gifts the country with the now famous coinage: “Geological Surprises” - in a bid to explain the repeated disasters occurring at the Project’s dam site.

January, 2019

Yet again, another slide at the right bank of the dam site occurs.

This time, the Project authorities embark on a series of preventive measures such as grouting, cable anchor, RCC pile etc. etc. Shotcretings were carried out at various levels and benches - in a futile attempt to best nature.

March, 2019

Nothing they do seems to be working. In desperation, the PHPA-I authorities sought divine intervention - they conducted a Rimdro seeking God’s help.

November, 2021

It is announced that PHPA-I dam construction is likely to be abandoned – based on a third-party foreign expert’s recommendations that a barrage upstream would likely be a less costly and more effective alternative to building a dam at the geologically unstable site that had already experienced multiple slides.

July, 2022

Reporting to the joint sitting of the Parliament, the Royal Audit Authority (RAA) charges PHPA-I of financial irregularity - for the period 2020-21 - amounting to a staggering Nu. 1,920.237 million.

September, 2023

It is announced that dam construction is back on the table - the idea of a barrage is put to rest.

August, 2024

During a public debate on the issue on BBS TV, the Energy & Natural Resources Minister reiterates that the PHPA-I will proceed with the construction of a dam, effectively putting to an end the prolonged debate over whether to build a dam or a barrage.

March, 2025

MoENR Minister announces that PHPA-I authorities will resume dam construction by June, 2025.

AS YOU SAW, SO SHALL YOU REAP!

It has taken the Project authorities a total of 17 years of delays, caused by periodic sliding of the mountain side, strange and persistent geological surprises, monumental financial mismanagement, corruption at unprecedented scale, and deliberate omissions and calculated indecisions - but the decision is yet again made - to go ahead and do the Project.

May God Almighty save us all 🙏

Four & Half Decades of Confusion

We have to hand it to our Parliamentarians – their eloquence is riveting! That said, I am afraid that their glibness fails to mask their apparent lack of adequate knowledge on some of the subjects they speak on.

A case in point is the ongoing discussions related to forestry - in both the Upper, as well as, in the Lower Houses of the Parliament. It is clear that some of the Honorable Members are confusing PRESERVATION for CONSERVATION. Perhaps the following will help bring some bit of clarity to the issue, so that the goat is not confused for the sheep.

Quality of our forests - valuable renewable natural resources left to turn to dust and debris!

It is my view that the intergenerational confusion began in the late 1970s when His Majesty the IVth Druk Gyalpo banned timber harvesting and nationalized illegal brown jacket cardamom plantations. In my understanding, that act has to be viewed as an act of preservation – and not be confused as an act of conservation.

In the North-Western regions of the country, powerful and influential private timber merchants, in cahoots with corrupt Forestry officials, caused indiscriminate and illegal felling of the trees. In the South-Central parts of the country, large swaths of virgin forests were being usurped and cleared of mature trees – for illegal plantation of the highly lucrative brown jacket cardamom, and for firing tens of hundreds of Battis - to dry the harvested cardamom.

The King was so infuriated by the mindless acts of destruction caused to the country’s forest stand that He ordered the seizure of the illegal cardamom plantations and banning of the harvesting of trees. It was an act designed to PRESERVE our forests from total annihilation – it was NOT an act of CONSERVATION. I know because I was one among the principal players in implementing the policy – for disposing off the residual stock of semi-processed lumber taken over from the timber merchants, and marketing of the yield of cardamom (from illegal plantations), harvesting of which was mandated to be overseen by the district administration officials. (How the policy implementation was botched up is an interesting story to be told another day)

Modern, scientific forest management practices encourage mindful human intervention – both for a robust ecosystem, as well as for biodiversity. Unfortunately, it is clear that we in Bhutan have come to believe that a densely populated forest is a sign of a successful conservation policy. That is why we unfailingly take great pride in claiming that we have forest coverage in excess of 70% of our land mass – clueless that those forests are causing more harm than good.

Please pause for a minute and think:

Why do lionesses deliberately abandon some of their cubs?
Why do some birds push some of their chicks off the nests?
Why do farmers prune their fruit trees and weed their kitchen gardens?
Why does silviculture promote thinning of the forest stand?
Why do human couples practice birth control?

A Most Fulfilling Conversation

5/29/2025

Hi Yeshey ….. I need your advice

8:00 PM

Is it good to invest?

8:36 PM

It is good ... if you have the money .... ofcourse I have not done any math on the offer …. but if I had the money .. I most certainly would – no need for maths!

8:44 PM

Not because I will make a huge profit ... but because as a subject and citizen of Bhutan ... I owe it to the country and the King --- to show that we care and that our support is solidly behind Him - our King.

8:44 PM

Okay

8:45 PM

I am likely to be able to spare Nu.300000 … so thinking of investing in the Bond.

8:46 PM

After 10 years I will get Nu.600000 I understand

8:46 PM

Wai, talk to you tomorrow … it is 9:00 PM already so going to watch BBS. Good Night

9:02 PM

You know what? …. I will deposit only Nu.200000 ... you can take Nu.100000

9:03 PM

Aii ... you are trying ot serve the king .. you take Nu.100000 and make the deposit ..... 

9:09 PM

Your wish to support our king will be fulfilled.

9:10 PM

I don't want the money back – I am offering it to you free. You deserve it.

9:13 PM

I mean it.

9:14 PM

NO NO NO NO … you do your deposit … dont miss the opportunity ... you may never get anpther opportunity of this nature .... I will find my way around it somehow. Good Night.

9:14 PM