New Delhi, January 15 (IANSlife): Sikkim-born author Pankaj Giri, who began his writing career with a book review blog and after several years of honing his writing skills, wrote his debut solo novel 'The Fragile Thread of Hope', says readers are tired of the "bestselling commercial fiction authors who churn out the same ordinary, cliched stuff again and again. Even they want to read original, heartfelt stories about real people with flaws, the complicated relationships be

Gangtok, January 11 (PTI): The Sikkim assembly on Monday adopted a resolution for granting Scheduled Tribe status to 11 left-out communities of the state. The resolution will now be forwarded to the Centre for approval. Speaking at the one-day assembly session, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said it is a long-standing demand of the 11 communities to be granted ST status. The assembly passed the Sikkim Panchayat (Amendment) Bill and the Sikkim Industries Licensing (Amendment)

New Delhi, October 25 (IANS): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday dedicated to the nation a 19.85-km alternate road alignment on the National Highway-310 in Sikkim, which serves as an important link to bolster defence preparedness in the Nathu La Sector. The alignment was necessitated after the earlier on suffered extensive damage due to sinking and other natural hazards. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Singh complimented the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for its &

New Delhi, October 21 (IANS): Bordered by Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal, India's northeastern state Sikkim is all set to provide tap water connection to all its households by the end of next year, a report submitted by the state to the Central government has indicated. Sikkim has around 1.05 lakh households, of which around 70,525 (67 per cent) households have tap water connection. The state intends to provide 100 per cent tap water connection to all its households by the year 2021-22

Gangtok, October 4 (PTI): At least one person was killed and three others were injured after heavy rains triggered a landslide at Tafil village in West Sikkim district, an official said on Sunday. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police conducted rescue operations to trace a person who is still missing after Friday's landslide, Block Development Officer Ranjan Raj said. Initially two persons were missing but th

Gangtok, September 23 (PTI): A major landslide, triggered by heavy rains, on the National Highway 10 cut off Sikkim from the rest of the country on Wednesday morning, officials said. The landslide happened at the 29 Mile area in West Bengal, they said. The NH-10, which is considered the lifeline for the people of Sikkim, is maintained by the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) and the PWD of West Bengal, they added. Officials at the site said that it will take at least a day

Gangtok, September 23 (PTI): Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang''s wife Krishna Rai and some of her family members have tested positive for COVID-19. In a Facebook post she said: "We made all possible efforts to keep corona at bay but unfortunately we got infected. I appeal to those who came in contact with us to get themselves tested and my close contacts to go into quarantine." She said that on doctors advice she along with her family members have quarant

KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 23 (IANS): Multiple landslides due to heavy rain have resulted in the closing of a stretch of a national highway that connects Sikkim with Darjeeling district of West Bengal, resulting in massive traffic jams, officials said on Wednesday. The NH-10 connects Sikkim's capital Gangtok to Kalimpong district and Siliguri town. An orange alert has also been sounded by the MeT department in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal and in neighbouring Sikkim

Gangtok, September 19 (PTI): Three ministers of the Prem Singh Tamang government and two BJP MLAs have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Saturday. All legislators and staff of the state legislative assembly were tested for COVID-19 on Friday as a precautionary measure ahead of the proposed one-day assembly session on Monday. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has tested negative for COVID-19, the official said. Information and Public Relations (IPR) minister Lok

Maligaon, August 26 (MExN):  Sikkim, the only NE state without rail connectivity, could be added to India’s rail map by 2022. According to a press release from Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) CPRO Subhanan Chanda, works on the railway line is already in progress in various sections. This is despite the progress being affected due to difficult terrain and prolonged rainy season, and the additional COVID-19 related restrictions. The Sivok- Rongpo project for providing

Gangtok, August 26 (PTI): Sikkim on Wednesday recorded 11 new cases, taking the COVID-19 tally to 1,486, an official said. All the new cases have come from East Sikkim district, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) officer Sonam Bhutia said. There are 407 active cases and 1,076 patients have been cured of the disease, the official said. Three persons have died due to COVID-19 in the state, Bhutia said. East Sikkim district has registered the highest number of case

Gangtok, August 19 (PTI): Sikkim on Wednesday reported the third fatality due to COVID-19 when a 57 year-old man succumbed to the disease at STNM hospital here, an official said. Director General (DG)-cum-secretary in the department of health, Pempa T Bhutia said that the victim, a native of Pelling was admitted to STNM hospital on August 14 for cellulitis in his right leg with multi-organ dysfunction syndrome. He tested positive in RT-PCR test and died on Wednesday. The cremation will

GANGTOK, AUGUST 17 (PTI): Senior Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leader Rup Narayan Rai was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at his residence where she was staying for months, police said. Rai, also the former chairperson of the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), was arrested from a village in the Namchi police station area in South Sikkim where he has been hiding, Superintendent of Police Thakur Thapa said. He had taken the girl t

Gangtok, August 17 (PTI): Sikkim on Monday reported 20 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the state''s tally to 1,187, an official said. All the 20 COVID-19 positive cases have come from East Sikkim district in the past 24 hours, Director General (DG)- cum-Secretary, Health, Dr Pempa T Bhutia said. As per district-wise break-up of COVID-19 cases, East Sikkim has registered the highest number at 684, followed by 460 in South Sikkim, 42 in West Sikkim and one in North Sikkim, he

Gangtok, August 15 (PTI): Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Saturday said his government will set up an education reform commission to draw a comprehensive policy in line with the NEP. After unfurling the tricolour at Manan Bhawan here on the occasion of the 74th Independence Day, he hailed the National Education Policy (NEP), approved by the Centre, saying that it provides an overarching vision and comprehensive framework for both school and higher education sectors. &q

Gangtok, July 31 (PTI): The Sikkim government on Friday extended the complete lockdown in the state till August 3 in view of a spurt in COVID-19 cases, a senior official said. As per the revised guidelines from the Home Department, the lockdown remains extended till 6 am on August 3, a notification issued by Chief Secretary S C Gupta said. A set of revised guidelines with regard to restrictions on movement and gathering of people, however, will come into force on August 3 and wil

Gangtok, July 28 (PTI): Sikkim''s ruling SKM has attacked the opposition for "hitting below the belt" and "manipulating words" while accusing Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang of failing to handle the COVID-19 situation in the state. A political slugfest erupted after opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) slammed the chief minister "for blaming the public" for the spread of the coronavirus in the Himalayan state. Tamang, also the Sikkim Kra

New Delhi, July 27 (PTI): The highest decision-making body for SEZs will on July 31 consider a proposal for setting up a new special economic zone in Sikkim with an investment of around Rs 43 crore. Sikkim''s department of information technology has proposed to set up the SEZ. Inter-ministerial body Board of Approval (BoA), chaired by Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan, will take up this proposal for consideration in a meeting on July 31, according to BoA''s agenda.

Gangtok, July 26 (PTI): Sikkim reported its first COVID-19 death on Sunday after a 74-year-old man succumbed to the disease at a state-run hospital here, a senior health official said. The man was a resident of Rongli sub-division of East Sikkim district, the official said. The man died due to COVID-19 early in the morning, Director General-cum-Secretary, Health, Dr Pema T Bhutia said. He was admitted to Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial (STNM) Hospital on Saturday night after he te

Gangtok, July 20 (PTI): The Sikkim government on Monday decided to impose a complete lockdown in the state from July 21 to July 27 in view of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, officials said. The decision to impose the lockdown was taken after reviewing guidelines for the management of the COVID-19 situation in the state, a notification issued by Chief Secretary S C Gupta said.   There shall be complete lockdown in Sikkim from 6 am on July 21 to 6 am on July 27, it sa