350 tourists evacuated in north Sikkim after landslide

October 11th, 2009 GANGTOK - Defined as a mystical kaleidoscope of nature's garden, Sikkim is increasingly fascinating tourists from different parts of the country and abroad. According to the State tourism department, around 208,000 tourists visited Sikkim in the first five months of 2009, which was an increase of nearly 35 per cent over the previous year.

October 7th, 2009 GANGTOK - Tourist arrivals in Sikkim record an increase due to its natural beauty and peaceful environment. Around 2,80,000 tourists visited Sikkim in the first five months of 2009, which is nearly 35 percent more than the last year.

September 17th, 2009 GANGTOK - Travel agents in Sikkim are a worried lot, as they fear a dip in domestic tourist arrivals in the state following the tension that prevails after reports of Chinese incursion and aggression along the international border. "From the tourist point of view the tourism movement...there seems to be lot of fear amongst the countrymen especially the domestic tourists because no body likes to go to a war zone," said Satish Bardewa, proprietor, Yak and Yeti Tour and Travel.

June 18th, 2009 SILLIGURI - Landslide following heavy rains snapped road links to the hills of West Bengal and Sikkim on Wednesday. Landslides occurred in Siliguri district when stretches along the National Highway-31A between Doars and Kalimpong regions caved in under torrential rain.

May 29th, 2009 GANGTOK - In a daring rescue act that stretched on till Friday morning, Indian Army troops have evacuated all the 24 tourists, including two ailing diabetics, who were stranded at a height of 15,000 feet at Thangu in North Sikkim. The tourists, trapped for two days following road blocks due to landslides in the tiny Himalayan state, were rescued in an operation that began Thursday night, according to Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS) president Paljor Lachungpa.

May 16th, 2009 GANGTOK - Counting of votes cast for elections to the 32 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat of Sikkim began Saturday morning, poll officials said. Counting began at 8 a.m.

May 16th, 2009 GANGTOK - Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was set for a fourth term with his Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leading as the votes cast for the assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat were being counted. Counting began at 8 a.m.

April 25th, 2009 GANGTOK - With an aim to give a fillip to the pilgrimage tourism in Sikkim, a Buddhist hub, the royal Bhutan Airlines has started a service between Bhutan and West Bengal has decided to link Sikkim, benefiting the Buddhist Circuit area. Lukendra Rasaily, General Secretary, Travel Agents Association Of Sikkim (TAAS), said that with the promotion of the Buddhist Circuit a lot more tourists would visit Sikkim.

April 15th, 2009 GANGTOK - At least 21 tourists from Kolkata were attacked in Sikkim by some assailants wielding swords because they refused to give way to the attackers on a narrow stretch of road, the police said Wednesday. The tourists were on their way to Lachung, a tourist getaway in north Sikkim mountains, when they came under the attack Tuesday night from some suspected political party activists who were canvassing in the area.

April 4th, 2009 GANGTOK - Bhutan's flagship carrier Druk Air will launch a new flight April 18 connecting Bagdogra in West Bengal with Paro in Bhutan and Thai capital Bangkok, it was announced here Saturday. An Airbus A-319 aircraft will fly the Paro-Bagdogra-Bangkok route twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Druk Air chief executive Tandin Jamso told reporters here.

March 30th, 2009 GANGTOK - Sikkim is blooming these days with ongoing orchid flower festival 2009'. The flower show commenced on March 21 at the exhibition center of Gangtok.

March 28th, 2009 GANGTOK - Domestic tourist inflow into Sikkim is on the rise so far this year, but there has been a drop in foreign tourists visiting the state. According to tourism department's records, as many as 27,138 domestic tourists arrived in Sikkim in January 2009.

March 24th, 2009 GANGTOK - Keen to improve tourist inflow into the State, the Sikkim Government recently launched a casino. With an annual increase of 20 per cent in tourist inflow in recent years, Sikkim is the only state in the country offering land based live casino facilities and complete casino gaming to tourists.

March 12th, 2009 YUMTHANG - The Sikkim Tourism Department (STD) has organised a 15-days basic course on snow skiing to promote tourism in the state. The course is also aimed to generate employment opportunities for the local youths.

December 24th, 2008 SILIGURI - A low-intensity tremor was felt along the India-Nepal border areas in Sikkim and in parts of West Bengal's hill district Darjeeling Thursday morning, official said. 'A slight-intensity tremor, measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale, was felt along the Indo-Nepal border in Sikkim and in some parts of West Bengal's Darjeeling district,' regional Met Office (North Bengal-Sikkim) director Gopinath Raha said.