Announcement of Data Release Glacial Lake Inventory of Bhutan using ALOS (Daichi) Data

Link to Glacier study Resources Here

Manufacturing.Net - March 04, 2011



Announcement of Data Release Glacial Lake Inventory of Bhutan using ALOS (Daichi) Data

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is cordially announcing public release of "Glacial Lake Inventory of Bhutan using the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS, nicknamed "Daichi") Data" (evaluation version). In the Himalayan region, there are numerous lakes in the vicinity of glaciers. These glacial lakes impose potential risks for sudden outbursts and consequent floods. This type of flooding event is referred to as a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), which occurs frequently enough in the Himalayan region. With a growing amount of public and scientific concern about hazards, climate change, and water management associated with GLOFs, the "Bhutan GLOF Project" (*1) aims at updating and improving glacial lake inventory for Bhutan using new and high spatial resolution data from ALOS. The motivation for this release is to support the research community and various domestic and international projects. By releasing the evaluation version, we hope to collect comments and suggestions for the preparation of the full release of the inventory, now scheduled in the spring of 2012.


The inventory is based on images taken between 2006 and 2011 from the two optical instruments, the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) and the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) onboard ALOS. The construction procedure consists of ortho-rectification, geometric correction, pan-sharpening, and digitization to extract water bodies. Glacial lakes included in the inventory are bodies of water that lay between the terminus of the mother glacier and the Little Ice Age moraine. Lakes located within 2 km of the Little Ice Age moraine down-valley are also included to take into account a possible flooding event with multiple lakes being involved. In addition, supraglacial lakes on debris-covered glaciers are included. Finally, we set 0.01 km2 as the minimum lake size considering small lakes contribute a less amount of GLOFs' risk. For this release we selected the Mangde Chu sub-basin, located in the central Bhutan. The parameters included in the inventory are ID, latitude, longitude, area, length, width, and some references in addition to a shape file for each lake. There are 93 glacial lakes in the Mangde Chu sub-basin.

Figure 1 shows the pan-sharpended image covering Bhutan overlaid the glacial lakes inventory (yellow polygons), Mangde Chu sub-basin (red line) and the Bhutanese border (gray line). Figure 2 provides the detailed image over Metathota glacial lake (yellow polygons) with ground truth data by GPS measurements in 2010 (green line). The red polygons indicate existing inventory provided in 2000.

*1 The project is a collaborative work of Nagoya University, Rikkyo University, Hokkaido University, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), Niigata University, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Earth System Science Co.,Ltd. (ESS), Hirosaki University, Nihon University, Teikyo Heisei University, Gunma University, Keio University and the Department of Mineral and Geology (DGM) of the Royal Government of Bhutan supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the "Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development" (SATREPS).

Link to the Inventory
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/bhutan_gli/index.htm (in English)
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/bhutan_gli/index.htm (in Japanese)

Bhutan: Local Council Elections And Update On Refugees

Written by: SAAG


By Dr. S.Chandrasekharan

Bhutan took another major step in institutionalising democracy by starting the local council elections.

There were many problems and delays in the run up to the elections. Firstly, there was the delay in demarcation of the boundaries to form 1042 Chiwogs ( village level constituencies) and higher grouping of Gewogs and four municipal levels.

Secondly, there was a running dispute between the Elections Commission and the government over the Local Council Act. According to the Election Commission the Act had many provisions that were inconsistent with the provisions in the Constitution.

After many to and fro exchanges and clarifications, elections to the municipalities of Thimpu, Pheuntsoling, Gelephu and Samdrup Jonkhar were held on 21st of January. This included election of Mayors (Thrompons)also to the four towns.

Elections were incident free though there were complaints in some booths over election irregularities.


BhutanIn Thimpu out of a total of 100,000 only 6000 were found eligible and allowed to vote. Voting rights were denied to persons who have been living for decades in Thimpu on the ground that they belong to consistencies ( thrombes) elsewhere and therefore not eligible to vote in Thimpu. Similar was the case at Phuentsoling. Only 600 out of a population of 30,000 were eligible to vote for the elections.

Thimpu being the capital, it is natural that people for various parts of the country far and near would come, reside and work at the capital and these people do not get voting rights for the local council elections. This is an anomaly that needs to be rectified. There is thus a need to amend the electoral laws as otherwise the elections will be a farce.

A second anomaly that needs to be reviewed is the minimum qualification prescribed for the candidates since in some instances there were no candidates to contest!

In all the four towns, officials said that female voters outnumbered men. At Thimphu, a former General Manager of Bhutan Power Corporation Kinley Dorji was elected by winning 1335 votes out of a total of 2994. In Phuentsoling, Tsehten Dorji a businessman was elected with 182 out of 447 votes cast. Samdrup Jonkhar voted Karma Sherub as Mayor while Gelephu voted Namgyal.

Refugee Position:
As of middle January 2011, a total of 41,114 refugees have been resettled in 8 countries thus leaving 71,455 still in the camps. With the present flow, it is estimated that only 12 to 15 Thousand refugees will be left in the camps by 2013, the cut off year declared earlier for the resettlement of refugees in the third countries by the UNHCR and the Govt. of Nepal.

The country wide resettlement Details are as follows.

Australia 2187

Canada 2404

Denmark 326

UK 111

Netherlands 229

Norway 373

New Zealand 505

USA 34979

Total 42114.

The current population in the camps is

Beldangi I 12793

Beldangi II 14680

Beldangi II Extn 8470

Golhap 4627

Khudanabari 10688

Sanischare 13323

Timai 6874

Total 71455.

With the shrinking population in the camps, the UNHCR is planning to merge the camps and the first step will be to merge Golhap with the Beldangi Camp.

There are still around 3500 non registered refugees falling under the categories of new arrivals, those left out in the census of 2008 and cross marriages.

Khudanabari camp was the only camp that was fully verified into four categories by the joint verification teams of Bhutan and Nepal. Bhutan has not taken a single refugee back from this camp though there are hundreds admitted by them to be Bhutanese citizens under category 1.

It is learnt that there are still 80,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese origin in southern Bhutan coming under the categories of F1 to F7 under the Bhutanese Citizenship Law and their fate still hangs in the balance. There is a justified fear among them that it will be their turn to be evicted in due course from southern Bhutan.

Of those in USA, there are positive signs that the refugees are settling down after the initial hiccups. Another welcome sign is that the Indian community at various places in USA is helping the Bhutanese refugees to settle down. There was an instance of the Indian community gifting a car to the refugee family to take the children to school in the absence of buses nearby.

It is an irony that Indians abroad are helping while back home India turned its back on the refugees!

The internet and blogs are full of stories of the local communities helping the refugees at various places. A kind of networking of all Bhutanese in various countries has begun. Surprising that they feel they are Bhutanese first and not Nepalese! A networked NRB community in due course is inevitable.

What would happen to those who would be left out in the camps after the resettlement? While the UNHCR has promised to provide necessary reliefs, it cannot continue indefinitely. It is this group that is likely to be radicalised in due course, as Bhutan as we have seen from the trends is unlikely to take even a single citizen back from the camps.

Bengal land tussle derails India-Bhutan link plans

Jayanth Jacob & Srinand Jha, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 19, 2011 Email to Author

Land acquisition politics in poll-bound West Bengal is derailing the first India-Bhutan rail link project. The project, laced with strategic, business and symbolic underpinnings, was expected to be completed in 2013. With a host issues plaguing the project — announced by Prime Minister M anmohan Singh while addressing the Bhutan parliament in May 2008 — New Delhi is mulling the over an alternative route.

The 17.5-km railway line starting from Hasimara in West Bengal going through Satali, Bharna Bari and Dalsingpara to Toribari in Bhutan was named to mark the golden jubilee of the visit of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru to the Himalayan kingdom in 1958.

The rail link, which was keeping in mind China’s push to rail network in South Asia, is now stuck in a web of land acquisition politics.

Technical and feasibility studies by the Railways estimated around 3,000 families will have to be resettled for the link. Tea estate owners and workers in the area protested the project.

The state government also expressed concerns as the railway line has to pass through the elephant corridor of North Bengal, like Dalsingpara, near Jaigaon forests.

The land acquisition agitation started by Mamataa Banerjee is affecting the project too, as the Bengal government is not keen on getting into issues involving land. “Unless we sort out the land issue forward movement is not possible. We have updated all these developments to the Bhutan side,” said a government official.

Since 2005 feasibility studies for various links to Bhutan have been studied — Hasimara (West Bengal) to Phuentsholing; Kokrajhar (Assam) to Gelephu; Pathsala (Assam) to Nanglam; Rangiya (Assam) to Samdrupjongkhar; and Banarhat (West Bengal) to Samtse.

Some officials say an alternate plan will only lead to more resettlements. “Toribari is close to Phuentsholing, the major trade point. Phuentsholing was the original plan, and Toribar was found on Bhutan government’s request. We are keen on alternative route to get the project off,” said an official.

Construction of Bhutanese check gate on Indian side at Daifam objected

: Darrang, October 21, 2010

The construction work of a Bhutan border check gate along Indo-Bhutan international border at Daifam near Bhairabkunda has been temporarily suspended following an objection raised by the Udalguri district administration. By a press release ,SS Meenakshi Sundaram, Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri district said that-Bhairabkunda on the Indian side has been the tri-junction of Bhutan-Arunachal Pradesh-Assam. The place has been a key strategic location, more so since as shown in Google Earth, it has been depicted as the last point of illegal Chinese claim on Indian Territory in this side. Daifam town, HQ of Daifam Sub-Division of Bhutan borders on the Bhutanese side is a Sub-Division of Samdrup Jonkhar district of Bhutan. It needs mention that Bhairabkunda, on the Indian side ,with a small population of a few thousand people has been a small business/trade village with a police Out Post. Further there is a major site of Dhansiri Irrigation Project.

The Bhutanese authorities visited Daifam on few occasions. Karma Namgyal, Director, Home, Royal Government of Bhutan while visiting Daifam told Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri about the plan of Royal Government of Bhutan to build a full fledged Border Check Post on the Bhutanese side a few months back.The DC Udalguri jointly visited the border point along with Namgyal and I/C 23 BN of SSB.The Director of Home explained the general proposal to advance the Bhutanese gate from its then position to a point which he explained was within Bhutanese territory, but requested Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri to clear certain encroachments purportedly on Bhutanese territory. DC Udalguri agreed to verify and if any encroachment of settlement were found on the Bhutanese side ,would be speedily evicted as per norms. The Circle Officer, Udalguri was asked to send a communication so as to formally take up the matter with the authorities on the Indian side.

Later the Bhutanese authorities initiated construction of an arch close to 100 meters south of their presently existing gate. I/C of 23 BN SSB informed that Bhutanese construction had entered Indian Territory. DC, Udalguri caused verification by Circle Officer, Udalguri Revenue Circle who informed that Bhutanese construction had been made at an angle to the international line and that it may have intruded into Indian territories. Accordingly message and a copy of the report and all relevant papers were sent to Government of Assam and to BTC. Subsequently, SDO of Daifam Sub-Division of Samdrup district informed that the Bhutanese authorities had unilaterally withdrawn the construction about a metre inside from the earlier location.But even then it would be in NO-Man’s land. Hence the government of Assam decided to take up the matter with the government of India for joint verification and finalisation by Indian and Bhutanese survey departments. Further it was also submitted that pending the verification, the construction activities may be stopped.

NDFB militants strike in Bhutan

TNN | Feb 20, 2011, 11.08pm IST
KOKRAJHAR/GUWAHATI: Even as Bhutan has been refuting that its territory is being used by militants from India's northeast, the recent attack on Bhutanese security personnel inside that country's territory by suspected NDFB (anti-talks) militants brought to the fore the fact that the Himalayan kingdom is still not immune to the activities of the outlawed armed group.

Though Bhutanese officials chose to remain tight-lipped on the matter, on Friday night, at least four Bhutanese personnel were injured when suspected NDFB militants ambushed a Bhutan police party between Sarpang and Gelephu road in Bhutan's Sarpang district bordering Kokrajhar district of Assam.

Kokrajhar police sources said the militants used sophisticated weapons like AK-47s when they ambushed a Bhutan police party. "At least four Bhutanese police personnel were injured in the ambush. We suspect it's the handiwork of the anti-talks NDFB militants," a police official said.

The attack came barely four days after suspected anti-talks NDFB released three volunteers of WWF-India at Balajan Tinali, about 7 km north of Kokrajhar town. Altogether, six volunteers, including three girls, were abducted by the militants of the outfit on February 6 from Ultapani area of Manas National Park. The kidnapped volunteers were kept hostage at a mobile camp of NDFB (anti-talk) inside Bhutan territory.

Last year, a Bhutanese armyman was shot dead by suspected NDFB (anti-talk) militants at Gabrukanda, west of Manas river inside Bhutan. In July last year, four SSB personnel including an assistant commander were ambushed and gunned down by the anti-talk NDFB faction in a forested area near Bhutan border in Chirang district. Sources said that after the killing of the SSB personnel, the militants sneaked into Bhutanese territory. "There are a number of mobile camps of anti-talk NDFB inside Bhutan. These camps are located close to the international border, and are very convenient for sneaking in and out for the militants," an intelligence official said.

The activities of anti-talks NDFB militants significantly increased after Bangladesh ceased to be a safe haven for northeast militant groups after Sheikh Hasina became the prime minister of the country. Many NDFB militants were arrested while escaping from Bangladesh and entering India through Meghalaya.

"In such a situation, Bhutan has emerged once again as the preferred place for the NDFB to carry out its activities," the intelligence official said, adding that Sarpang district is the place where most of the activities of NDFB (anti-talk) were concentrated. In 2003, all NDFB camps along with Ulfa and KLO were dismantled during the operation All Clear' by the Royal Bhutan Army."

No access to Nepalis at IGIA duty-free shops

AKANSHYA SHAH

NEW DELHI, March 13: If you are a Nepali national and flying to New Delhi, rest assured, you have no access to the duty free shops at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which by all international standards is considered the fourth best in the world.

The newly implemented customs rule governing IGIA has barred Nepali nationals the access to duty free commodities. This also applies to the unfortunate Bhutanese nationals. The citizens of both these countries neighboring India do not require visas here.

Nepalis coming from all over the world have been noticed complaining that they are no longer allowed to shop at the duty free shops in Delhi´s international airport. They are mostly told that they cannot purchase duty-free items on a Nepali passport, and sometimes they are also asked to make purchases in dollars.

“I could not purchase anything at the duty-free shops in IGIA. So I had to request an Indian friend who was traveling on the same flight to purchase few chocolates from the shops,” a Nepali national who landed in Delhi, told Republica.

Another passenger coming from New York in Jet Airways flight said, “I was asked to pay in dollars and my credit cards were not accepted.”

Both the passengers said that they faced no such problems just a few months ago.

Although the customs department has now come to implement stringent rule on Nepalis and Bhutanese nationals, the question arises why the rule was not applied earlier.

“The rule has existed since few years but it is being implemented strictly now,” DC Mathur, a customs official at IGIA, commented, adding, “We act according to the Baggage Rule.”

India´s Baggage (Amendment) Rules, 2006 - (Baggage Rules, 1998) states that tourists of Nepali origin coming from Nepal or of Bhutanese origin coming from Bhutan are not allowed free allowance (Appendix E. c).

The rule still does not apply to bureaucrats, Nepalis carrying blue passports and influential businessmen. Republica encountered few of such personalities who purchased from IGIA duty-free just a few days ago.

Asked to comment, the Nepali embassy officials in New Delhi said that they too have come to know about the rule “recently.” Asked if the embassy is making any diplomatic efforts to find out the reason or lobby to give access to Nepalis to the duty free shops, the officials said that “no such action has been taken so far.”

“Although we have heard complaints from our Nepali passengers traveling to Delhi, no formal request has been made to government of India,” an official at the Nepal embassy said seeking anonymity.

He, however, said that the same rule does not apply to passengers while departing from IGIA, which means Nepalis and Bhutanese cannot buy from duty-free shops while arriving but have been purchasing while leaving from New Delhi. The Baggage Rule, however, does not specify this.

GMR-Group, the builder and operational management in-charge at IGIA, too is unaware of this rule.

Bhutan's Government Officers Ursurp People's Land, Torture the Owner

STATEMENT OF MOTIKHAR ACHRAJA Date:-11/03/2011

1. My Father Mr. Devi Charan Acharja was forced to live Bhutan in June 1992.
2. In 1986 I separated from the joint family and staying with my nine family members. While appropriating the land among five brothers, I got the share of land measuring 10.31 acres under the old thram (land registration number) no.114 and the new 158.However, mean while the Home ministry had suspended the land registration and transfer or transaction of any land deal. While allotting the said land, I was also given the responsibility of education and marriage of four younger brothers and five sisters.
3. I also cleared the loan of Rs.31, 514.00 taken by my father from Bhutan Development Finance Corporation (BDFC) mortgaging the same land in 1994 for fishery development.
4. Since my father and other family members were evicted, I was mending the land until the then Dzongda of Sarbang district Dr.Sonam Tenzing on April 21, 1998 verbally to my shock told me that the land does not belong to me.
5. I could not approach the king immediately for consideration of my case due to financial constraint. I could do only in October 1998.
6. The king had ordered the Royal chamberlain (Zimpon) Dorji Gyeltshen to forward the case to the home ministry for verification .After that there was no any intimation to me pertain the case.
7. I approached the High court in 1999 for redress of my case as I did not get anything from the King. As there was no any response or action even from the High court, again I appealed to the high court in 2002 requesting to review my case .In 2003,the High court forwarded the case to Home Ministry to look into the matter. When I approached the Home ministry and met the then home minister Tinley Gyamtso, he told me that it is the duty of the court to ascertain whether you get the land or not. I was regularly paying land tax and other government liabilities.
8. To my surprise and in my absence, Mr. Nima Khandu came and claimed that the land had been allotted to him by the government under resettlement scheme along with the building. My children defied and sent him away when he came with some monks to lay the foundation.
9. I also appealed to the then Agriculture minister Sangay Nedup on 1-1-2004 and november2004 for transfer of registration of land to my name from my father.
10. On 6 April 2004, Dzongda Sonam Dawa, Dungpa and Gup (block head) Karma and Tshogpa in my absence came to my house and told my children to vacate the land and the house. When my children started crying, the Dzongda pointed the area leaving the house for demarcation. On 7th April 2004, Dzongkhag land surveyor Mr. I.K. Suncheuri, resettlement coordinator district livestock officer, Gup and Tshokpa came in my absence and demarcated the area along with 1.5 acres of betel nut orchard and paddy field totaling 5 acres.

11. When Nima Khandu came and started building house, my son Durga Prasad Acharja rejected and dismantled the poles.
12. On 8th may 2004 my son Durga Prasad Acharja was arrested and taken to Lodrai jail, Galephu and the court in Galephu sentenced him to one year jail on charges of violating section Na 1-4 of Thrimzhung Chenpo (supreme law).

13. Unsatisfied with the unfair decision of the Galephu court, I appealed to the Sarbhang district court for fair judgment and justice. However, the district court too did not give any decision of its own and justified the decision of the Galephu court.
14. On 21-9-2004, the Dzongda Sonam Dawa issued a last warning letter to me written in Dzongkha which I cannot read except the English word “Last Warning” written in bracket.
15. On 2-2-2005 again appealed the Agriculture minister on his visit to our block Chujegang (Danabari) to look into my case and on the spot decision. The minister then and there ordered the surveyor general Mr.Sithar Namgyel who was also with the minister’s entourage to look into the case and resolve the problem. After hearing my story and the facts by the Surveyor general, he told the two judges of sub-division Galephu and the Sarbhang district to transfer the land registration in my name as I posses the agreement from my father.
16. On 8-2-2005 the Surveyor General has written to the judge, Galephu to transfer the land registration in my name. It is more than 5 years, the court has not done anything to transfer the land and has not respected the Surveyor General’s letter too asking to transfer the land in my name.
17. In 2005 the Sarbhang court also justified the verdict of Galephu court of imprisonment of my son.
18. Since I felt injustice and unfair verdict of my son, I appealed to the high court Thimpu in 2005.
19. The High court judge Karma Sherpa also game the verdict that since the land has not been transferred within one year of the agreement, the land thus belongs to the government and the imprisonment of son is right (bench no.3). Further I was sent to the Royal Bhutan Police Central box, Thimpu and kept there for one month and 25 days without any question.
20. Not satisfied with the verdict of bench 3, I appealed to the full bench consisting of judges Passang Topgay, Thinglay weizer, K.B.Ghaley, Sithar Namgyal, Jigme Zangpo and Tshering Wangchuk. The judges instead of giving fair judgment, they alleged me of stealing betel nuts grown in my own land and fined me Rs. 27000.00 saying that the land belonged to the government and allotted to Nima Khandu. Further I was asked to pay fine of Rs 20000 for dry land Rs 35000.oo for wet land per acre totaling Rs 1,57,00.00 and also additional Rs9862 as compensation to Nima Khandu and asked to vacate the land. The decision was passed on 5-7-2006 vide case no.1583.
21. On 19-7-2006 not satisfied with the decision of the High court, again I approached the King. The king ordered the Royal chamberlain office to issue a letter to the Home minister to look into the matter and resolve it. The king also ordered that in case of complication and unable to solve the problem, the matter should be forwarded to Gyelpoi Zimpon’s office.
22. In 2007 the high court summoned and asked me to produce the decision paper. Along with the decision paper, I showed the letter issued by the Gyelpoi Zimpon’s office. Again I went to the Zimpon’s office to inquire the progress. I was told that nothing has come to the office from home ministry. I went to the home ministry and on inquiry, I was told that my letter was forwarded to local government section. At last the letter was found lying in the office without any action. The local government office told me that they would dispatch the letter to the Dzongkhag office. On 1-10-2007 the home ministry had sent the detail report of the plot no.SSD-03 to the Zimpon’s office.
a. On May 18, 2009, I appealed to the prime minister, Thimpu stating that nothing has happened in regard to transfer of my land registration from my father. The case was put up in the cabinet. The cabinet has written to the department of the land record to look into the case. The land record had written to the Dzongkhag citing all the correspondence regarding the said land but there was no any response to the query from the Land record. The office had inquired whether there is new land (Sathram no.158, previous 114).The new thram was also issued in my father’s name Devi Charan Acharja. This is so because he had not taken a pie as compensation.
23. On June 2010 I appealed the 5th king through the Gyelpoi Zimpon office, Thimpu. The Zimpon office; Thimpu had forwarded the appeal to the Zimpon welfare office, Bumthang as Sarbhang Dzongkhag falls under the jurisdiction of welfare office, Bumthang.
24. In 2010 legal officer from the sarbang Dzongkhag investigated and reported to the Gyelpoi Zimpon legal officer Wang Gyeltshen. Mr. Wang Gyeltshen submitted the report to Gyelpoi Zimpon and the Gyelpoi Zimpon according to the order of the King instructed the high Court to respect the verdict of case no.1583 dated 5-7-2006.
25. On 2-12-2010, according to the instruction from Dzongkhag, the Gup of Chujegang Sangay Tshering issued order asking me not to touch anything in the land, either sow or reap any crop.
26. The high court has sent a letter on 31-1-2011 to Dungkhag court Galephu Instructing to respect the old decision of 2006.

27. On 22-2-2011, I plucked 98 sacks of betel nut grown in my land. While plucking the nuts the Gup came to my house and went. Later on sent the Tshogpa to call me to his office with the laborers numbering 10. He handed me a letter written in Dzongkha and asked me immediately to go to Galephu to meet the Dungpa. When I came to Dungkhag to meet the Dungpa who was away and had to stay overnight in Galephu. The laborers packed the betel nuts in 98 sacks and loaded on the truck number BP-2-1326 and were bringing to Galephu, while on the way to Galephu, the truck with the load was intercepted by the Royal Bhutan Police and taken into custody and is kept in the police centre, Galephu.
Mr. Motikhar Acharja is arrested by the royal Bhutan Police, Galephu on 26th February 2011 and is kept in the Galephu jail without any question. The Human Rights organization of Bhutan (HUROB) has appealed to all the concern for Urgent Action on 26th February 2011 and requested to write to the Prime Minister of Bhutan for justice and immediate release of Mr. Acharja. HUROB firmly believes that the respective concern Human Rights Organizations and Diplomatic missions have taken appropriate steps to pressurize the Royal government of Bhutan (RGOB) and hopeful that Mr. Acharja gets justice and be released who is till date kept in the jail, Galephu.
The above statement was taken by HUROB staff on 24th February 2011from Mr. Acharja. He has availed more than 70 letters of correspondence and courts decisions for ready reference. Mr. Acharja statement and his untiring saga of fight for justice and right is one testimony to fathom by all conscientious human being that how much injustice being meted out to southern Bhutanese of Nepali speaking by the Bhutanese regime starting from the King, the supreme authority to the lowest Block head. Even the Court that talk of fair justice without favour and fear is biased when concerning the southern Bhutanese. One should also comprehend that people like Acharja who dares to challenge the government is not reaching any where to get justice that how many innocent Bhutanese especially the Nepali speaking are being suppressed, oppressed and denied justice. Again HUROB requests everyone who receives this statement to promptly take action. Your small gesture is doing to make big difference in the life of Mr. Acharja and thousands of southern Bhutanese who are silently suffering. The HUROB also request the core countries for Bhutanese refugees which are resettling the Bhutanese refugees to form a committee to independently study the unabated suppression of the southern Bhutanese, question of nationality and citizenship of about 80000 relatives of refugees still living in Bhutan and denial of justice.
Thank you for your kind and continuous support and solidarity.

S.B.Subba
Chairman
HUROB
Email: sbyongya@yhaoo.com
hurob1991@gmail.com
Mobile: +91-7602895197.