Phuentsholing
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Phuentsholing ཕུན་ཚོགས་གླིང་ Phuentsholing |
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| Town | |
Phuntsholing, Bhutan
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 Phuentsholing
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| Coordinates: 26°51′0″N 89°23′0″E / 26.85000°N 89.38333°E | |
| Country |
 Bhutan
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| Dzongkhag | Chukha District |
| Gewog | Phuentsholing, Sampheling |
| Elevation | 961 ft (293 m) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 20,537 |
| Time zone | BTT (UTC+6) |
| Website | www.pcc.bt |
Phuntsholing, also spelled as Phuentsholing (Dzongkha: ཕུན་ཚོགས་གླིང་) is a border town in southern Bhutan and is the administrative seat of Chukha District. The town occupies parts of both Phuentsholing Gewog and Sampheling Gewog.
Phuentsholing adjoins the Indian town of Jaigaon, and cross-border trade has resulted in a thriving local economy. The town has the headquarters of the Bank of Bhutan previously but shifted to Thimphu. In 2005, Phuentsholing had a population of 20,537.
On 5 April 1964, reformist Prime Minister Jigme Dorji was assassinated in Phuntsholing by monarchist cadres as the king lay ill in Switzerland. The Dorji family was subsequently put under close watch. It was 1958 when the first one-storeyed cottage was constructed it housed a shop. The late Prime Minister, Jigme Dorji informed Phuentsholing residents that concrete houses could be constructed. Tashi group of companies constructed the first concrete house, followed by Tibetans and Indians. Some of the structures that exist to this day are the buildings housing Bhutan Enterprise, Jatan Prasad Lal Chand Prasad shop and a beauty parlour near Zantdopelri lhakhang. After the announcement, 18 shops were built around Zangdopelri area. The Zangdopelri area was a bus terminal, and on Saturday a market would be assembled. Apart from the cottages, there were several huts and Phuentsholing was beginning to grow.
The India-Bhutan border at Phuntsholing clearly separates two very different peoples and cultures. Jaigaon across the border is larger, bustling and loud, similar to many other West Bengal centres of commerce, albeit with many Bhutanese shoppers. Phuntsholing is uniquely more urban than other Bhutanese towns as it is the Bhutan financial, industrial and trading capital. It has been affected a little by the neighbouring culture, but is distinctly far more quiet and orderly than its neighbour.
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Wikipedia