Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

September 22, 2017, Aizawl: The Sixth Edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit organized by the Integrated Mountain Initiative annually, concluded at Aizawl on the 22nd September. The three- day long Summit was a platform for discussion and brainstorming of ideas and solutions for issues surrounding its two major themes- Climate Change and Sustainable Mountain Cities. A Meet of the Legislators from across the Indian Himalayan States held under the aegis of the Summit was a grand success.  The Meet was chaired by the Hon’ble Speaker of Mizoram State Legislative Assembly, Shri Hiphei and co- chaired by Member of Parliament from Sikkim, Shri PD Rai, themed ‘Climate Change- Impacts and Way Forward’. The Meet saw the active participation of 8 Members of Parliament from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam and Uttarakhand, 19 Members of Legislative Assemblies including two Ministers and Deputy Speakers from all 11 Mountain States...

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 Gya...

PRESS RELEASE 5 August 2016, New Delhi: Hon’ble Member of Parliament of Sikkim Constituency, Mr. P.D Rai brought to the notice of the Lok Sabha the current situation of the damaged National Highway-10 due to incessant rains leading to frequent landslides and building of l ow level dams on Teesta River. The house was informed about the critical importance of the highway which is the lifeline of Sikkim given the lack of rail and air connectivity. Mr. Rai stressed on the strategic and economic importance of the highway leading to Sikkim as it sustains all forms of economic activity which include our exports of organic produce and maintain the tourism industry of Sikkim. It thus, affects our farmers and young people engaged in tourism.  He urged the Government to take immediate cognizance of the situation and take necessary action as the situation has aggravated to a point where there is imminent danger of huge disruption. Mr.Rai also expressed his concern on the vulnerability ...

  Press Release:  New Delhi: 20 June:  “ I've moved and written a letter to the Sikkim Government from Antarctica congratulating all of you for the work you are doing for the planet. I have posted it from the southernmost city of the world Ushuaia” gushed Pradeep Karuturi. He was part of a two-week expedition to Antarctica in March 2016 organised by International Antarctic expert and explorer Robert Swan.  Pradeep is a climate change enthusiast who went to Antarctica recently on a climate change Expedition by the 2041 team. “I felt great happiness in sharing that Sikkim became an organic state to the International team of 30 different nations.” He wants to come to Sikkim to study the climate-positive work that is being undertaken by the Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling, led Government and the people. “Ice melting is happening very rapidly in Antarctica and I believe Climate Change is the biggest issue that we need to take action immediately.I believe Si...

By PD Rai January has been full of negative news starting with terrorist attack on our Air Base at Pathankot. For a nation hungry for good news Sikkim has provided one. Sikkim has been declared a fully Organic State by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No mean achievement this. Congratulations all around. Organic Mission accomplished. How many States can say this for any Public Policy carried out in mission mode? This milestone could not have been achieved but for the complete cooperation and coordination of all sections of our society. There are still the naysayers. There will always be the fringe elements. They also serve an important purpose and we are grateful to them. We wake up to another day. Anything changed? Apparently not. But from now on it is about building on the success of the achievement. By no stretch of imagination is this a small task. It is also an onerous one too. Chief Minister Chamling is a proud man. Having crafted a shared vision of a Fully ...

By PD Rai In India many startups are actually happening in the Organic Agri space. Little is known of or about them. They may not have found space in Vigyan Bhawan during the inauguration of #StartupIndia. Of course, overwhelmingly the glitz of Technology led startupswere there for everyone to see. They are the now famous ones in online marketing like Flipkart or those in transportation aggregation like Ola. Prime Minister Modi flagged off #StartupIndia in New Delhi on 16 th January. This is a fantastic initiative and we all applaud it. It has the architectureof giving entrepreneurs the space to do what they do best, creating products and services from ‘ideas’ and making them work – the startup ecosystem. After making them work finally curating them to be able to monetize it before ramping it up in terms of scale. That an idea can fail and hence needs that exit route is planned well. Self certification is a key ingredient. This will take away the ‘babu’ or small time bu...

By PD Rai Come Monday 18 th January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially declare Sikkim as an Organic State. Any which way you look at it Sikkim has assumed leadership in Organic Agriculture. The rest of the country will have to follow suit. Years of toiling and leadership has made this happen. The people of Sikkim, the farmers, agriculturists, bureaucrats and politicians have all played their part in this great Sikkimese narrative. All have to be congratulated. One must commend Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for taking a look at the great potential of this venture. He has found it to be a significant public policy move that can transform the Agriculture Policy within the rest of India. Little wonder then that he has skilfully combined the launch with a meeting of all Agriculture Ministers of the Indian States to romp home this point. How are we to achieve food security but without the costly inputs of fertilizer plants created from imported oil and Naphtha. ...

                  PRESS RELEASE The Integrated Mountain Initiative held its annual Meet of the Mountain States in New Delhi on 11 December 2015 celebrating International Mountain Day, at the Vishwa Yuvak Kendra, Chanakyapuri.  The meeting followed up on the successful conclusion of the 4 th Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS IV)  held in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh in October 2015.   The central theme of the Summit was Disaster Risk Reduction, which is particularly crucial for the mountains that face increasingly frequent large- and small-scale disasters such as earthquakes, flash floods, and landslides.  Natural disasters result in loss of lives and set back the economy of the region by destroying assets and interrupting school education and livelihoods.  To follow up on the recommendations made during the Summit, the Meet of the Mountain States was held in the format of a workshop that...

Press Release  Highlights Sikkim’s SAATHI Program as a Model Positive Intervention  Sikkim Lok Sabha MP called for a fresh people centred approach to address the drug use issue through the lens of human rights and public health. He emphasized that when it comes to addressing drug abuse, the rights way is the right way. Rai made these comments while participating in a special dialogue on “the right to health and safety of people who use drugs: importance of prevention, treatment and care”, which was organized to commemorate the World Human Rights Day on December 10, 2015. The event was hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for South Asia in collaboration with The Forum of Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS (FPA) and the India HIV/AIDS Alliance. Rai stated that interventions focused on drug abuse prevention, especially targeted at the youth, are the need of the hour, He called for harnessing the positive power of peer influence and...

                              PRESS RELEASE Sikkim Lok Sabha MP Prem Das Rai and Rajya Sabha MP Hishey Lachungpa mourned the demise of sitting Nagaland Rajya Sabha MP Khekiho Zhimomi. Zhimomi was admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for the past few days and died this morning after suffering a stroke. The Sikkim parliamentarians visited AIIMS to pay their respects to the departed leader by offering the traditional Khadas. They also participated in the prayer service conducted by a Naga pastor for the deceased leader. The service was also attended by former Chief Minister and sitting Nagaland Lok Sabha member Neiphiu Rio, Government of India's Special Interlocutor for the Naga peace talks Ravindra Narayan Ravi and members of the Naga community in Delhi. Zhimomi was a staunch supporter of the recently inked Naga Peace Accord. Zhimomi was a Rajya Sabha member for two terms -...

  Press Release • Discusses the opening of the Nathu La - Mansarovar route and its implications • The governor reiterates maintaining peace is a high-priority Gangtok: September 27, 2014 Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Shri Prem Das Rai called on the Hon'ble Governor Shri Shriniwas Patil this morning at Raj Bhawan as a courtesy call. Hon'ble Governor discussed matters relating to the welfare of the people and the development of the state with Shri Rai. They also discussed at length the landmark agreement between India and China to open an alternate route to Mansarovar and Mount Kailash through Sikkim’s Nathula pass. The Hon'ble Governor noted that this would create many new opportunities for the youth of Sikkim to exploit in tourism and other sectors. He noted that this was a long-standing demand of the Chief Minister with the Centre. He emphasized the need to move in this direction and create the capacity amongst the youth to ensure the maximum extent pos...

Prem Das Rai, Member of Parliament from Sikkim (in circle) in his schooling days at Wynberg-Allen School, Mussoorie. Look out the hockey stick in his hand, the photograph does have some sweetness in it. The year than was 1968. Pic : Alwynians

Former MP cites dissatisfaction over party policies as reason for resignation GANGTOK, October 17:  Former MP, Rajya Sabha and a senior member of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) PT Gyamtso has resigned from the primary membership of the SDF party. In a letter to the party President Pawan Chamling dated October 13, Mr. Gyamtso has said that he chose to dissociate from the party as he was “disillusioned with ad-hocism policy of the party, influenced by sycophants, self seekers and rank opportunists.” According to the letter, the starting of Mega Projects, seven of which are located in Dzongu has, however, changed Mr. Gyamtso’s perception “about the party president’s intention and his concern for the Lepcha community and the oft repeated pronouncement of Sikkim having a rich biodiversity and clean environment for development of eco-tourism destinations in the country in a number of national and international meets.” Agreeing upon the concept of hydro power generation other than tourism ...