Champions of Rangzhi Nyetang

In the five years that I served as the Club Secretary of the Rotary Club of Thimphu, from 2017 to 2021, I helped the Club raise funding in excess of Nu.400.00 million that went into supporting meaningful projects in a number of areas such as Agriculture, Education, Health, WASH etc. etc.

Nothing was too small, or outlandish, for the Club to handle. I had a personal motto:

We Are Not God To Decide Who Needs Help and Who Does Not!

We have been called in to help with a mind-boggling array of services - from help in skilling the inmates at Dawakha Open Air Prison, to supply of portable shit pots to every single RBP stations across the country, including, as gory as it sounds - to providing freezers to freeze the dead and the departed at Gelephu General Hospital etc. etc.

But there was one thing I adamantly refused to touch:

AWARENESS PROGRAMS!!

I am of the firm belief that trying to make the Bhutanese aware of anything is akin to throwing good money behind bad joke! Even a drunkard friend offered me the view that the only way to make a Bhutanese aware is through the use of - Taetha - the Stick! For proof, consider the following:

On 11th June, 2025 I was driving down to town. As I approached Pangrizampa Bazam, I saw a motley of people around a table fully laden with bottles and bottles of mineral water - the small sized ones. I was a little intrigued as to why that water station was set up. As I continued my drive towards Taba, I saw a haphazard string of joggers/runners advancing towards me.

Wellbeing at the cost of the environment

I moved to the shoulder of the road and parked my car so that they could pass freely and without hindrance. It was then that I noticed a jogger gulping down water from a small mineral water bottle … and mindlessly chuck the empty bottle on the road! He was not alone – some others did the same.

I was aghast! How can they? As I continued my drive towards town, I noticed many empty bottles on the road - all of them of the same size and brand. I realized that the joggers/runners were responsible for all that trash …. So I retracted back to Parizampa Bazam and began picking up every discarded plastic bottle - to see how many of these bottles have been chucked on the road.

In a distance no more than 3 KMs, I gathered 69 empty bottles - some flattened - some whole.

Days later I got to know that the joggers/runners were all civil servants participating in an event designated “Celebrating Civil Service Well Being Day”.

The Program List does not show littering as part of the event

I couldn’t believe it! They do this? After decades of education on Rangzhi Nyetang? Have they learnt nothing at all??

I am dumb founded - I mean, we are supposed to be recipients of the Champions of the Earth Award, J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership, Murie Spirit of Conservation Award, Green Destinations' Silver Award …. and so many other awards.

There were 69 empty mineral water plastic bottles carelessly chucked on the road. Suppose 100 civil servants had participated in the event - that would account for a whooping 69% of them being totally uneducated.

If 200 had participated, it would still mean 34.5% of them.

It is so heart breaking - obviously being literate is not the same as being educated! How else can you explain such disgusting behavior from the supposed crème de la crème (to qualify to get into the civil service one is supposed to be the most excellent, outstanding, or the elite)?

Fellows, we seriously need to get serious about deserving the numerous accolades the global community bestow upon us - or we will be caught out soon.