SIKKIM: President visit

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Gangtok, April 12: President Pratibha Patil is scheduled to visit Sikkim for the first time on April 14.

During her three-day stay in the state, the President will inaugurate the Kanchenjungha tourist villa-cum-socio-cultural amusement park, a Rs 50-crore mega tourism project at Ranka, East Sikkim, on April 15.

The park is a blend of rich cultural heritage and modern amusement amenities and will make tourists extend their stay in the state, said state rural development secretary Anil Ganeriwala.

On April 16, Patil will address the maiden convocation of Sikkim University at Saramsa Garden, Ranipool, 14km from here.

The President will also be a “visitor” of Sikkim University”, the 23rd university in the country to be established by an act of Parliament on July 2, 2007.

The university had been operational since the 2008-09 academic session heralding a multi-disciplinary semester system in the four government colleges and five private higher educational institutions of the state.

At Saramsa Garden, Patil will be accompanied by Sikkim’s acting governor M.K. Narayanan. Chief minister Pawan Chamling will also attend the convocation along with university chancellor M.S. Swaminathan and vice-chancellor, Mahendra P. Lama.

The President will be present at the concluding ceremony of the year-long golden jubilee celebrations of Sikkim High Court as well. The celebrations started on April 17 last year. Gangtok is getting a facelift for Patil’s visit. Large eroding stretches of NH31A are being repaired at a war footing.