Governor Patil calls on PM in Delhi, reiterates pending issues

ALSO MEETS MINISTERS AND SEEKS ASSISTANCE TO RESOLVE CONNECTIVITY ISSUES
GANGTOK, 30 July: Governor Shriniwas Patil called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi today.
A press release from Raj Bhawan informs that after the formal exchange of greetings, the Governor raised various developmental issues concerning the State and sought technical support from the Central Government to overcome the difficulties in various developmental projects undertaken by the State.
Raising the issue of poor connectivity of the state with the rest of the country, the Governor sought the intervention of the Central Government for the early completion of railway connectivity to the State.
He also underlined the need to upgrade the road connectivity and early completion of Pakyong Greenfield Airport to increase overseas tourist footfall in the State.
The Governor apprised the Prime Minister that currently around 10 lakh tourists visit Sikkim annually of which the share of domestic tourists is over 90%. He added that the biggest concern of the State is Road, Railway and Air connectivity, and if addressed with priority will help the state develop in leaps and bound.
The Governor also brought up the issue of unemployment in the state and requested the Prime Minister to help  skilled manpower coming out of various Livelihood Schools in the State in getting gainful employment opportunities in various metro cities and urban clusters across the country.                
Stating that the State has Hydro-Power potential of over 8000MW,  of which only 570MW is being generated at present, he sought the proactive role of the Central Government in the quest to harness the potential for the overall prosperity of the State. The Governor also extended an invitation to the Prime Minister to visit the state.
Earlier in the day, the Governor called on Minister of Road Transport & Shipping, Nitin Gadkari and raised the issue of road connectivity with special focus on doubling the width of existing NH10 making it a bi-lane road.
The Minister assured that special attention is being given to entire North Eastern region and the issues of road connectivity to Sikkim will be rightly prioritised. The Minister has also expressed his willingness to visit Sikkim soon.
In another engagement, the Governor called on Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Forest and Environment, Prakash Javdekar today at New Delhi. The Governor raised the issue of Doordarshan Kendra, Gangtok and sought the intervention of the government to ensure that it is  made operational at the earliest for the benefit of the people of Sikkim, the release mentions.
He also requested the Minister for early clearance to all the road projects under defence which are passing through reserved forest areas in the State, from Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. The Minister has assured speedy clearance of all the pending projects in Sikkim and early operation of the Doordarshan Kendra, Gangtok.