Children’s Day refreshes Nehru’s vision, reiterates commitment to keep young safe

POWER PROJECTS IN STATE INSPIRED BY NEHRU’S VISION: CM
“POLITICS BY ADHOC TEACHERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED”
GANGTOK, 14 Nov: “We need to introspect upon the contributions made by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for the development of India. What India is today is all due to his firm stand on issues related with the development of the country,” said Chief Minister Pawan Chamling during the Children’s Day celebrations held here at Chintan Bhawan today.
“Nehru used to say ‘Dams are the temples of modern India’ and following in his footsteps, after our government came to power we decided to harness our rivers and invested in power projects,” he said and added that from a total of 21 power projects, the number was later brought down to 12 due to certain reasons.
Criticism from various organizations regarding the power projects should be debated, he stated further, adding that it was time for intellectuals and the civil society to come forward regarding the issue.
Sikkim is the only State where there is no hunger or extreme poverty, but there is still a lot of work to be done for its development, he added.
Speaking on Child Rights, he said that children in Sikkim are getting the best educational opportunities and are given the best protection. Orphaned, handicapped and differently-abled children of the state are being provided with pension and will be provided free education, the cost borne by the state government, as this is the policy of the state government, he added.
He informed about the pre-matric scholarship for OBC students to be provided from next year onwards. Swimming pools will be built at the constituency level for now and later at the sub divisional level as well, he informed.
Speaking on the ongoing pen-down, chalk-down indefinite strike of the ad-hoc teachers, he stated that the ad-hoc teachers instead of working and teaching the children in the schools are playing politics. This, he said, will not be tolerated and necessary and strict action will be taken against them.
Teachers Eligibility Test [TET] is mandatory and has to be taken by all teachers as this is a central act and not made by the state, so it is compulsory for all teachers to sit for the test, he further stated.
“Those from the opposition are giving irresponsible statements regarding the above issue and these needs to be stopped as it is not in the hands of the government to take any action regarding the issue. It is a central act and people need to act responsibly”, asserted the CM.
In his short speech, the Governor, Shriniwas Patil stated that it was an honour for him to stay at Raj Bhavan as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit to Sikkim had also stayed there. “Whatever development has taken place in India it is all because of the far-sightedness of Panditji,” he said.
“Sikkim is a very beautiful state filled with very generous people, right from the elders to the children, which has made me proud to be in Sikkim”, said the Governor.
In the end, he requested the Chief Minister and the state government to establish a football academy for the children of the state in Sikkim and offered all assistance from his side.
“If this could happen during my tenure, it would act as a boost for me and be an asset for the state”, he stated.
Earlier, two patriotic songs were presented by students of Enchey and Tadong Senior Secondary Schools, while a documentary film on the visit of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Sikkim was also screened.