Nation’s biggest water fountain to come up in Jorethang, announces CM

NAMCHI, 17 June: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today announced the construction of a multi-storied parking plaza at the existing community center at Namchi to meet the demand for parking space along with setting up of an Archery Academy here and the nation’s biggest water fountain to be constructed at Jorethang.
The Chief Minister made the announcements at a meeting on tourism development convened here today with tourism stakeholders of the district. The meeting was organized by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department at the Indoor Stadium here.
“Sikkim needs constructive youth to lead our State. With this objective, the government has developed extensive infrastructure for the tourism sector and we are in the process of launching even more initiatives for which our educated youth need to come forward and take up responsibility,” said the CM.
“We should implement sustainable tourism with ecological approach”, said the CM further adding that development should not come at the cost of ecological imbalance or loss of culture and tradition. He went on to add that the Government is also coming up with pro-youth tourism programme and will give full emphasis on adventure tourism.
To benefit from the opportunities being opened up, the youth need to stop taking things for granted, he said, stressing that even the best policy intervention needed to be complemented with people’s support and hard work to deliver on their potential.
There are no easy routes to success or prosperity, the CM said, pointing out that while the government was trying to facilitate the process for the future generation, they need to claim ownership and invest hard work. This, he stressed, was not time to sit on the fence or get misled by the rumour-mongering of self-centred opportunists. “The State Government has not only delivered real development in Sikkim, but also created a positive image about the State, the governance here and its people. This image needs to nurtured and further burnished with an involved participation in the development process,” he said.
Addressing the meeting, the Tourism Secretary, R. Telang, highlighted that the CM’s commitment to develop Char Dham had brought a “paradise within reach” and informed that till the month of May this year, 4,00,000 tourists had already visited Sikkim and that this figure is expected to reach 8-10 lakh by the end of the tourist season.
The Secretary further informed that till today there are only 17 registered travel agencies and 75 hotels in Namchi, underlining that this reflected a huge gap between demand and supply. Tourism stakeholders of Namchi must put more effort he stated and urged the educated youth to enter this sector.
The programme was also addressed by MLA Namchi Singithang where placed the demands related to tourism development in South District. During the programme 14 beneficiaries of South District were presented with the cheques of Home Stay allotment orders.
The programme was also attended by Ministers, MLAs, Officers, tourism stake holders and youth of the district.
After the meeting, the Chief Minister also visited the grieving families of the victims of the 13 June accident that took place near Kirney on NH 31A.