Welcome change for Indians amid climate worries in Bhutan (Thimphu Diary)

Thimphu, April 27 (IANS) From a scorching 40 degrees Celsius or more at home to below 15 in this idyllic Himalayan kingdom, it was a welcome change of climate for the Indian media delegation, the largest media contingent at the 16th SAARC summit themed around global warming.

‘What pleasant climate change this has been,’ said a journalist from Delhi as soon as a special Air India aircraft carrying Indian mediapersons landed at Paro Airport, some 60 km from here.

Indian journalists at the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit for the largest bloc.

Nearly 50 Indian reporters are in Thimphu to cover the regional event – a first for the Bhutan capital. Of the 300 foreign reporters here for the summit, some 30 are from Pakistan.

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A parallel SAARC for borderless South Asia

As the main SAARC summit is all set to begin here Wednesday against the backdrop of receding Himalayan glaciers and rising sea levels, a parallel South Asian summit is being held in Bhutan.

About 100 foreign and local journalists from the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) are holding the parallel event. Their theme is to have a borderless South Asia.

Lashing out at SAARC, SAFMA leaders said the bloc has done ‘nothing so far’.

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Happiness is growth indicator in Bhutan

Skyscrapers, zooming SUVs, glittering shopping malls and cool gadgets may be indicators of growth elsewhere but the development in this Buddhist-dominated nation means something beyond that.

Far from unending human greed, the Bhutanese believe the notion of gross national happiness is an alternative to the gross national product.

The guiding philosophy of people and also that of the government is not to worry about mere economic development. The success of government plans is measured by how much happiness they produce.

‘We need to realise that high GDP targets are achieved at the high price of social dislocation and environmental devastation. This dispels the notion that high unlimited economic growth equates well-being,’ Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley said at an event.

Thimphu, April 27 (IANS) From a scorching 40 degrees Celsius or more at home to below 15 in this idyllic Himalayan kingdom, it was a welcome change of climate for the Indian media delegation, the largest media contingent at the 16th SAARC summit themed around global warming.

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