Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unable to travel to Gangtok on Thursday to participate in the “Sikkim@50: Where Progress Meets Purpose and Nature Nurtures Growth” programme due to inclement weather, officials confirmed.
The event marks the 50th anniversary of Sikkim’s statehood, and the Prime Minister was scheduled to arrive around 11 AM to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate a series of development projects aimed at enhancing infrastructure, connectivity, and sustainable growth in the state.
Instead of attending the event in person, PM Modi addressed the people of Sikkim virtually from Bagdogra in West Bengal.
Key highlights of the event include the inauguration of a new 500-bed district hospital in Namchi, worth over ₹750 crore, the launch of a passenger ropeway at Sangachoeling in Pelling (Gyalshing district), and the unveiling of a statue of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Atal Amrit Udyan in Gangtok.
Additionally, the Prime Minister released a commemorative coin, souvenir coin, and postal stamp to mark the golden jubilee of Sikkim’s statehood.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Modi will also visit West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh on May 29 and 30, where he is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of development projects worth over ₹70,000 crore.
As part of these initiatives, he will lay the foundation stone for the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project for Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts. The ₹1,010 crore project will provide Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to over 2.5 lakh households and more than 100 commercial establishments and industries, and establish around 19 CNG stations.
In a post shared on social media on Wednesday, PM Modi said:
“Over the next two days, I will be attending programmes in Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The development works that will commence over the next two days will bring innumerable benefits for people and strengthen our resolve to build a Viksit Bharat.”