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Friday, June 15, 2012

No Rain and No Rupee, A Recipe for Woe?


After a bearing a torturous and dramatic train journey for more than 48 hours, I reached Bhutan in best of my health. In Phuntsholing, I first saw and felt the impact of ongoing rupee crises and inflation. An Indian taxi driver refused my fare in Nu and a Bhutanese taxi driver couldn't agree on  my bargain. 

As I travelled further up, I also came to know that there was another thing which has threateningly  became scarce in most part of Bhutan. -The rain-. To me, the scarcity of rain by far appears more threatening than the scarcity of rupee. 

Few days ago, farmers in Punakha, Paro, Wangdi and Tashigang were genuinely crying for rain. Because chilli plants are wilting young and paddy plantation getting delayed. People are predicting famine with inflation! Butter lamps in Lhakhangs have already consumed tonnes of dalda and gallons of oil. Loud and clear, prayers and mantras have been chanted. But the answer of rain looks grim and bleak with each passing day.

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