I-Day celebration at Jorethang

JORETHANG, 17 Aug [IPR]: The 68th Independence Day was observed with much fanfare and high spirits in Jorethang playground on 15 August. The event organized by the Independence Day Celebrations Committee (IDCC) was attended by Area MLA cum Minister Health & IPR, AK Ghattani as the chief guest in the presence of SDM Jorethang, Tenzing Denzongpa; SDPO, RK Sundas; officials of Jorethang sub-division, members of Zoom Salghari and Jorethang Nagar Panchayat besides senior citizens, teachers, students and public of Jorethang and adjoining areas.
At the onset of the program, a tribute to the Father of the Nation was paid at Gandhi Park by the chief guest followed by a band display by Springdale school, Mangalbaria. The event also saw SDM Jorethang reading out the Governor, Shriniwas Patil’s Independence Day message. Likewise, Chief Administrator of SICB, Karfectar read out the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s message.
Addressing the program, Mr Ghattani spoke on the significance of Independence Day. Terming the day as a day where people of all caste, creed and community come together as one, he underlined the various educational and scholarship opportunities provided by the State Government for the students of Sikkim.
Further, he informed about the exemption of fees for students of colleges under the state government and also highlighted the prospects of a bright future for students aspiring for Civil Services as they can avail UPSC coaching classes sponsored by the government. Mr. Ghattani also expressed his gratitude towards Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who extolled Sikkim’s Organic Mission which aims at making Sikkim a complete organic state by 2015.
The Minister also made several announcements such as construction of Mabung school playground, Primary Health Centre (PHC) as well as development of Zoom GPU rock garden as a popular tourist site in South Sikkim.
The program was also marked by felicitation of teachers for the services rendered by them to the school and community and students under the Chief Minister's Meritorious Scholarship Scheme (CMMS). The winner’s trophy of Inter school Mass Drill Competition was handed over to St. Francis School, Jorethang while New Buds Academy, Jorethang was declared the best March Past team.
The finals of the 1st MLA Challenge Cup Football Tournament was also held between Kurseong and Darjeeling where Darjeeling outplayed Kurseong by a score of 1-0. The winners of the tournament were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 60,000 alongside a trophy while the runner up team was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 40,000 along with a trophy by the chief guest on the occasion. Several cultural programs by various schools of Jorethang and the adjoining areas formed the cultural highlights of the day