How much does it take to ignite your luck?

Courtesy: Bhutan Telecom

Bhutan Telecom is conducting its lucky draw again. This time it’s to commemorate 50 years of Bhutan Telecom since its inception. The prizes range from iPhone 5 to iPad 4, Samsung Galaxy S4 and cash. There will be a total of 33 prizes in total. This sounds interesting! We all should give a try. The voting lines will remain open starting today (October 1) till December 15, 2013.

Anyone, who owns a mobile phone, can participate. Each time you vote, B-Mobile will deduct Nu.5 from your balance. It makes sense too – Nu. 5! But the terms and conditions continue;

Each lucky draw number is entitled to one (1) prize only; no number(s) shall win more than one prize

Okay that makes sense! But it goes further:

Customers sending more number of SMSs will have higher chances of winning

Now that is where I find it confusing. That’s where most of the lucky draws, reality shows included, become messy. We understand it is business and marketing strategy, but a person might end up voting worth more than iPhone 5. That confuses me. What is the point of voting if one can buy it in the first place? I think only one vote should be allowed per number. That way every number – for BT says one number will get only one prize – that's fair chance of winning. If one number can win more than one prize, then it makes sense to vote many times - countless times.

According to National Statistical Bureau (NSB), a total of 479,517 Bhutanese subscribed to cellular phones by the end of 2011. And B-Mobile alone has a staggering figure of 3, 83,089 subscribers. Now assuming that 70% of its customers take part in the lucky draw, Bhutan Telecom would earn a substantial revenue (Nu. 1,436,584?). And this is only from one vote per customer.

This is why I find “Customers sending more number of SMS will have higher chances of winning” clause confusing. Bhutan’s economy is certainly not in its best shape we were told. And I find this a little off beat.

But I will certainly send as an sms BT 50 to 1963 and stand a chance to be lucky!

Comments

When they are ready

The Ministry of Education discovered 890 'underage' children admitted in schools across the country in 2019. Thus, the ministry in May 2019 issued a notification revoking the admission for these children. Majority were in urban centres. Desperate, parents and the affected schools requested the government to intervene. They also requested the government to consider lowering the enrolment age to five years. Currently, in Bhutan a child can legally go to school only when s(he) is six years old. And that policy was strictly followed a few years ago to the extent that some schools refused to admit children even if they were short of a few weeks. So, parents, mostly in urban areas, resorted to faking their children's ages. Many parents were guilty of adding years onto their children's actual ages. However, most parents, we are told, managed to correct their 'mistakes' later. Faking a child's age was rampant...

The Vanishing Currency of a Bhutanese Village

Growing up in rural Bhutan, the richest people in the village often had very little cash. They were known as chukpo , 'the ones with cattle'. And no one asked how much money a person had in the bank. No one or only a countable few had bank accounts, anyway. Wealth was measured in fields, cattle, grains, and the ability to carry a family through the seasons. Cash existed, but it played only a small role. Most exchanges happened through barter. Rice for chillies, soya beans for Sichuan peppers, cheese for eggs. I still remember that a ball of homemade cheese was worth two fresh eggs. Nobody needed a calculator because people simply knew. The most remarkable part of the system was the exchange of labour. During sowing and planting seasons, families needed extra hands, yet labour was rarely paid in cash. If I spent three days helping on your farm, you spent three days helping on mine in return. No contract was needed to be signed. No money changed hands. Wealthier households so...

Community of Bhutanese Bloggers Conceived

And finally it happened. I must say that it was by far the most attended Bloggers Meet. In the past we had bloggers agree to attend and cancel at the very last minute. But on June 24, 2015 – almost 100% of bloggers, who confirmed came. I would like to thank everyone for keeping his/her words, especially those who had to come all the way from Wangdue or Paro. Thank you! 35 Bhutanese bloggers met in Thimphu. We were honored to have the presence of senior bloggers like Aue Yeshi Dorji and Dasho Sangay Khandu. The meeting assumed more significance because of their presence. Equally, we were happy to have many young bloggers in whom we see so much enthusiasm and potential. On top of many things that transpired during the Meet, one of the most significant outcomes was the unanimous decision reached to form a formal group of bloggers, a platform aimed at encouraging and inspiring more bloggers around the country. The members decided that we will call it Community of Bhutanese Blogger...

Ngawang Phuntsho

Search This Blog