Bhutan King pitches for building strong nation with commitment

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: Along with the rest of the kingdom, Gelephu joined in the celebration of the 118th Bhutan National Day at the Gelephu parade ground today with patriotic fervour. Lamneten, a spiritual leader of Sarpang district, hoisted the national flag of Bhutan as chief guest. The day was centrally celebrated at Bhumtang, where the Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk addressed the programme as the chief guest. A couple of guests from India, especially from BTC, attended the programme.

Addressing the nation through a live streaming programme from Bhumtang, the king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, pitched for building Bhutan into a strong nation in the world. He said, "We need to work together for a strong foundation of the nation and the survival of Bhutan. We have institutions to grow talents in every respect and have the largest Buddhist city. Towards the fastest economic development in the world, many countries, including India, are striving hard, and we should also work with great potential." He also said every Bhutanese must contribute to building Bhutan with a strong commitment to shaping the future of the country.

On the occasion of the National Day celebration, His Majesty announced that the mega project Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) is a very important and reassuring model, and in simple terms, this is what it means: the land is converted into ownership, not taken away, and private landowners in the GMC area will not be losing their land without getting value, and their land is converted into shares in GMC as a company. He said the GMC was being treated like a multinational company; it is not just a city, it is being structured like a company owned by the people of Bhutan. He also said the total land in GMC will be 1 million acres, of which 94 pc is government land, and therefore, 94 pc of shares belong to the public, represented by 20 Dzongkhags and 205 Gewogs, which means every Bhutanese has an indirect stake in GMC, not just those living in Gelephu.

Meanwhile, private landowners will receive shares proportional to the value of their land, and they will remain as stakeholders, will benefit from future appreciation, will earn dividends and will have a voice in the success of the GMC. There will be no displacement, no exclusion, but this model ensures that no one is pushed out unfairly, no land is grabbed or undervalued and growth benefits are shared, not concentrated, which avoids what happens in many countries where megacities enrich only a few.

The king called for a collective national prosperity because most shares are publicly owned, profits can support public services and revenues can be reinvested in health, education and rural development. He also said the GMC’s success will uplift the entire country, not just one region.

Meanwhile, talking to a selective media person of Kokrajhar at Gelephu Parade Ground, the Secretary General of the Bhutan-India Friendship Association (BIFA), Dawa Penjor, said the 118th National Day of Bhutan was celebrated at Gelephu along with Bhumtang. He said the people of Bhutan celebrate it gorgeously every year on this day when the King addresses the nation on this special day. He said people used to wait to hear his national address on future projections of the nation. "GMC is an amazing mega project of Bhutan where international flight services started recently to connect with the people of the rest of the world. There had been a voluntary programme to initiate the project where 17,000 volunteers joined the initial works of Gelephu International Airport. He also said as many as 14 spiritual sites under GMC have been approved for development under the GMC mega project.

The National Day celebration at Gelephu was also attended by Dzongrab (Assistant District Commissioner), Thrompon (Mayor) of Gelephu, Senior Superintendent of Police, Commandant of Army, Gelephu, retired Government Officials, Senior Officers of armed forces.

At the end of the programme, there had been the 'Tashi Labay' dance, a joyous, communal folk dance performed at the end of festivals, celebrations, or gatherings to signify a happy conclusion, wishing for good fortune in the future ('Tashi') and a safe return ('Labay' – meaning 'let's meet again'), with people joining in circles to call it a day, blending celebratory farewell with good luck wishes. Dignitaries of the programme and guests from India joined the Tashi Lobay dance.

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