Sikkim CM meets PM Modi, discusses key issues

New Delhi: Sikkim Chief Minister P. S. Tamang met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament House in the national capital on Monday and discussed key issues related to the state including the demand for tribal status by some communities.

Tamang thanked PM Modi for the Centre’s support in the early relief attempts following the flash floods in Sikkim.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed several important issues, including the demands for tribal status for 12 indigenous communities, the Limboo-Tamang seat reservation in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, and the visit of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorji to Sikkim.

The Chief Minister also briefed PM Modi on the initiative to build a multimodal corridor with an integrated check-post between Sikkim and eastern Nepal at Chewa Bhanjyang.

Additionally, he presented the Post Disaster Need Assessment report, estimating Rs 3673.25 crore for recovery and reconstruction, emphasising the need for continued support.

Meanwhile, being a strategically important route, the Chief Minister also requested a permanent solution to frequent landslides on NH-10 which is causing recurrent disruptions of connectivity.

Taking to his social media handle, the Sikkim Chief Minister wrote: “I also sought urgent intervention to restore NH-310A, which connects Gangtok to the Indo-China border, following recent cloudbursts in North Sikkim. I also proposed the development of a Himalayan Railway Line between Bakrakote in West Bengal and Rorathang in Sikkim, presenting historical correspondence from 1917 to support this initiative.”

The meeting was also attended by Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba and RS MP D.T. Lepcha.