| Sikkim |
Infrastructure initiatives
Sikkim`s persistent prayer for improved infrastructure and better connectivity with the rest of the country finally got answered this year with the Centre approving the construction of an airport and a broad gauge rail link as border trade through Nathu La also did robust
business. The Centre approved a Rs 1,339-crore rail link (52.7
km) from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo near Sikkim and
granted Rs 360 crore for construction of a green field airport
at Pakyong district.
The proposed airport will be constructed in the next
two years while the rail line is likely to fructify by 2016.
Border trade booms
On the economic front, border trade through Nathu La did a robust business of Rs 96 crore, a near treble increase since last year, with Indian traders accounting for 98 percent of the turnover through export of goods.
But for the ban on the export of non-Basmati rice, the
business by the Indian traders could have been much higher.
The low import figure of about Rs two lakh from China
did raise serious question about the long-term prospect of the
bilateral border trade through the `Silk Route` with the state
government and local traders seeking a wholesale review of the
items on the trade list of the two countries.
Gorkhaland agitation blocks NH-31A
Meanwhile, repeated blockade of NH-31A, the sole road
link of Sikkim with the rest of the country, emerged as a
major concern to the border state as it got physically cut
from other parts of the country for several days due to the
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-sponsored agitation for a separate
Gorkhaland state in West Bengal.
With the essential supplies running out of stock and
Sikkim-bound tourists turned away from Darjeeling Hills, the
state had to face problems for many days.
In an apparent reference to Chinese `intrusion` in the Finger Area in North District, the state government went as far as raising the emotive issue of the people feeling neglected and isolated and demanding substantial measures for proper infrastructure and connectivity.
The Supreme Court too intervened in July on a petition of a prominent state government official for keeping the highway opened round the year and directed the Centre and the state governments concerned to take adequate measures.
Tourism surges
The tourism sector, which has been a feather in the
Himalayan state`s economy for decades, received a boost as
nearly four lakh tourists visited the state in the year, a
rise of about 20 percent than last year.
With a number of tourism-related also infrastructure
coming up, Sikkim can look forward to more business,
particularly in the hospitality sector.
Gorkhaland issue
The Gorkhaland issue remained at the forefront in 2008. It found backers among the political firmament of Sikkim with the political parties ranging from the ruling SDF to Opposition and other fringe
outfits openly voicing their support for the demand in spite
of the suffering caused to the people due to the blockade of
the NH-31 A by the protesters.
While a section of the parties urged the state
government to adopt a resolution in favour of the Gorkhaland
statehood demand, other parties called for the creation of a
Greater Sikkim comprising the territories of Darjeeling Hills
and Sikkim to cater to the aspirations of the Nepali-speaking
people of the country.
On the flip side, a newly-floated outfit Sikkim
Nationalist People`s Party tried to foment regional chauvinism
of the Sikkimese by demanding restoration of a pre-1975 status
of Sikkim as an associate state of India on the ground that
the powers that be at the Centre have failed to maintain the
sanctity of Article 371(F), applicable to the Himalayan state.
Bureau Report
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