All Sikkim villages to have telephones, internet soon: Pilot

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.

July 29th, 2009 GANGTOK - To promote the weave of an indigenous tribe of Sikkim, handicrafts and handloom department of the state is trying to enhance its popularity by imparting training to unemployed youth. The Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft (DHH) of Sikkim impart training to unemployed Sikkimese Lepcha boys and girls between the age group of 14 to 24 years.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will allocate Rs.100 crore for about 1,000 villages with higher population of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the budget for 2009-10 in parliament Monday. The scheme, currently on a pilot basis, will be extended in the coming years, he said.

May 21st, 2009 GANGTOK - The first session of the newly elected 32-member Sikkim assembly, which has no opposition member after the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) swept the polls, begins Friday. Governor B.P.

May 20th, 2009 GANGTOK - The new Sikkim government of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) was sworn in by Governor B.P. Singh here Wednesday.

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.

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.

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 7th, 2009 GANGTOK - Five people, including two bureaucrats, were killed when their car plunged into a 200 feet gorge in Sikkim due to heavy fog, police said Tuesday. Animal husbandry department secretary T.W.

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 26th, 2009 GANGTOK - Around 50 cyclists, including foreigners, took part in the 2nd Kanchenjunga International mountain biking expedition, which began in Sikkim recently. The mountain biking expedition, which concludes on March 30, is organized by the State Tourism Department in association with Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation Limited.

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 22nd, 2009 GANGTOK - Creative minds from across India came up with diverse paintings at a weeklong art festival in Sikkim. The festival started on March 16 and will end on March 23.

February 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday denied media reports that it had reached an electoral alliance with the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Sikkim. The CPI-M said in a statement here that a party member, who attended a meeting where it was announced that the three parties were joining hands, does 'not represent the views of the Sikkim committee of the party'.

January 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Engineering and construction major Punj Lloyd has secured a Rs.2.64-billion contract from Airports Authority of India to construct a new airport in Sikkim, the company announced Tuesday. The project -- at Pakyong in East Sikkim and expected to be completed in 24 months -- includes the construction of a 30 metre wide runway of 1.7-km length, taxiway, apron drainage system and electrical work on the airport.