No industry allowed in Thimphu: Mayor Kinlay Dorjee

Vijayawada: Kinlay Dorjee, Mayor of Thimphu, the capital of Himalayan kingdom, said here on Thursday that Thimphu will remain traditional and the government is taking all precautions to strike a balance between the tradition and modernity.

• Says the Bhutan’s capital city Thimphu remains pristine as the government is taking all precautions to strike a balance between the tradition and modernity
• Mayor says the industries are situated on the border with India since all the raw material was imported from the neighbouring giant

Talking to The Hans India at three-day Happy Cities Summit here, Kinlay Dorjee said the capital city, which is situated in the western central part of Bhutan amidst the hills, wants to remain as clean as possible and for that purpose five sewerage plants were established in the city.

“We concentrate on the environment, culture and good governance,” the Mayor said. The capital city with a population of 1.5 lakh has 50 per cent youth. However, no industry is allowed either in the capital city or in the interior of Bhutan, he said.

“All the industries are situated on the border with India since all the raw material was imported from the neighbouring giant,” he said. Of course, gypsum, dolomite, coal mines are there in the country. “We have strict code in the country no more exploitation of natural resources,” the Mayor said.

The country is facing unemployment problem like all the countries with some qualified youth looking for jobs in the countries like Japan, Thailand and even Australia. “Efforts are on to solve the unemployment problem without damaging the ecology,” he said. The Mayor said that there is growing menace of alcoholism in the country.

“However, there are strict laws to contain the spread of alcoholism. No newer licences would be given to bars and liquor shops and liquor should not be sold to persons below the age of 18 years,” he said. The government launched advocacy on a large scale against the consumption of liquor and its adverse effects on health.

“There is proposal to increase tax on alcohol to discourage its consumption,” he said. Referring to the smoking habit, Mayor Kinlay said that tobacco cultivation is totally banned in the country. “Those who smoke need to import from other countries and they have to smoke in the smoking rooms only,” he said.