August 10, New Delhi: MP Sikkim, Shri PD Rai, Lok Sabha and Shri Hishey Lachungpa, Rajya Sabha met with the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri Jayant Sinha to discuss the status of Pakyong Green Field Airport.
At present the airport will operate with ATR 42-seater turboprop aircrafts on a 2km long runway. The Minister stated that Rs. 150 Cr has been set aside for expansion of the width of the runway, post inauguration, in order to facilitate the landing of ATR 72-seater aircrafts.
The Minister offered that the Airport Authority of India could operate the airport if the state so requests. However, the autonomy to decide lies entirely with the state if the land belongs to the State Government. He also enquired about the road connectivity of the airport to Gangtok.
The Minister informed the MPs about the new policy on subsidizing Helicopter connectivity to Sikkim, through the UDAN scheme, that is under active consideration. He also expressed interest to meet with Shri Ugen Gyatso Bhutia, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sikkim, within this month, in order to discuss operational issues. The meeting will also target high quality tourism and increasing airport viability through the building of infrastructure around the airport.
Ever since Sikkim became part of the Indian Union, four major state-level Philatelic exhibitions had been held organized by the Department of Post. Little is known about the first philatelic exhibition SIKKIMPEX-82 except that among the many participants on the exhibition one of the participants was Late Ganga Kaptan, a legendary figure in Nepali literature. The three-day exhibition had three special covers released. Sikkim Philately had to wait for two decades to have the next major exhibition. Twenty years later in 2002, a three-day exhibition was held at White Hall. It was for the first time the people of Sikkim took a keen interest in that gummed piece of paper. Dr Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of Sikkim was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The exhibition was a huge success. The occasion helped introduce Dipok Dey, a renowned stamp designer from Kolkata and the only Indian to design a United Nations Stamp with the young and eager stamp collectors of the state. Amo...

Comments
Post a Comment