Gangtok, Feb 25: Greener, bigger, fresher and more wholesome than elsewhere in the country – that’s how vegetables appear here, in the manicured Saramsa Gardens, the venue of the Sikkim Internation

To avoid accidents on upcoming Sevoke-Rangpo line

To get started a project that has been hanging for four years now for want of environment and forest clearance, the Railways have decided to install sensors to track the pachyderms present on or near rail tracks. The Railway Ministry has sought a detailed report on the feasibility of the project in order to get approval for the construction of the first rail link to Sikkim which is estimated to cost Rs.1,340 crore.

GANGTOK: Sikkim is the second–smallest State in India in terms of area after Goa. It is also the least populated in the country with just 6,00,000 people. Yet, in some matters, this Himalayan State towers over others, leading the way where the rest of India falters.

Among the most innovative schemes undertaken in this State is the Comprehensive Annual and Total Check–up for Healthy (CATCH) Sikkim. This programme is aimed at tracking the health status of people in the State, so prevention, rather than cure, can become the order of the day when it comes to public health.

Sikkim is the first State in the country to provide pucca houses to all its residents belonging to the economically weaker sections.

The State Government has launched a social housing project, Chief Minister's Rural Housing Mission (CMRHM), under which around 6000 dwellers living in kutcha houses will get a new single storey earthquake resistant new pucca house free of cost by 2013, project director of the mission C C Wangdi informed.

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale, rocked Sikkim on Tuesday, the same day as last year when 63 people were killed.

The tremor was felt at 5:56 pm, the regional meteorological centre here said. The epicentre was located 27.4 degrees north latitude and 88.4 degrees east longitude, it said.

In a setback to NCC Limited, formerly Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited, the Sikkim government is believed to have cancelled the proposed Teesta-I hydel power project that was bagged by the company.

According to a senior official of the Sikkim government, the state home department has issued a notification cancelling the 280 MW power project. "The project was cancelled for two reasons. Firstly, continuous opposition from locals on the project and secondly, environmental issues.

Experts recommend use of green technologies including cold mix to expedite road construction

Gangtok: Sikkim’s Green Mission Programme started in 2006 has catapulted the State as among the most clean and green in the country. This has been possible due to the various innovative environment-friendly initiatives taken by the Green Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. Along with the protection and conservation of its rich biodiversity, the adoption of green rural roads in the State can play a vital role in the development of the State as well as help achieve its Green Mission Programme, said experts at a media workshop on Tuesday.

New Delhi: Union govt has ranked the sikkim state as best state in the country in the category of smaller states for its outstanding performance in strengthening and developing the panchayati raj institutions in the state Union Rural Development Minister Sh Jai Ram Ramesh and Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Development Sh V.Kishore Chandra Deo on Tuesday presented ( Panchayat empowernment and incentivising schemen award) PEAIS 2011-12 award to Sh C.B.Karki Sikkim Rural Management and Development Department Minister during national conference to celebrate the national panchayat raj day function in vigyan bhawan new delhi on Tuesday .

Gangtok: A consensus was arrived on promotion of green energy and specific action plan chalked at the Forum of Regulators (FOR) meet which began here on Thursday.

The forum worked on a strategy to harness the potential through installation of solar photo voltic (Solar PV) system on the rooftop of commercial, industrial, household premises, Pramod Deo, Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and FOR said.

Gangtok: The poverty level in Sikkim has gone down with 80,000 people now living below poverty line, according to the new official estimates for 2009-2010 released by the Planning Commission.

While in 2004-2005, poverty level in Sikkim stood at 30.9 per cent with 1,70,000 people living under BPL, in the wake of the intense poverty alleviation programme initiated by the government, it has been significantly reduced in both urban and rural areas, official sources said.