Have you ever tried, even once, to stand outside in winter for few hours? Ok, let me be more lenient. Let’s keep it for few minutes? I’m pretty sure that a minute or two out in cold would send anyone rushing back to heater or Bukhari. "Concerned that Desuups have to brace the unforgiving winter cold , His Majesty's Soelra was bestowed with supply of firewood" It so happened that when lockdown 2.0 in Bhutan was imposed due to community outbreak in December last year, the temperature was plummeting especially in Thimphu. During such time, Desuups came forward in large number in spirit of volunteerism to ensure lockdown protocols are adhered by general public. "When many people got bored locked inside their home, we were daily engaged in such tiring work" The nature of duty during such time entailed carrying out patrolling, guarding certain area, unloading of essentials, to name few. But the guarding of ‘red buildings’ I personally noticed was really challenging.
“Everyone took vegetables for granted until the national lockdown. Until then, nobody cared to even grow a single leaf of spinach in their backyard. ‘Everything we need is readily available in vegetable markets’ is what everyone thought,” began Ugyen, continuing, “But come lockdown, first thing they found running out was the vegetables in their kitchen. Due to its short shelf life, the little they bought the earlier were exhausted too.” Ugyen Tshering volunteered to deliver vegetables to residents of Thimphu during the national lockdown in August. He serves as a Sr. Forest Ranger at Forest Resources Management Division (FRMD), Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS), Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF), Thimphu. The Government devised a plan to deliver vegetables to people’s doorsteps and the Thromde initially facilitated the delivery. However, with mounting orders, limited work-force and other logistical issues, the Thromde was overwhelmed. I questioned myself that if I