Gangtok Times

07/04/2024

"Bringing in commerce and changing centre's POV"
Our MP Candidate Shri P. D. Rai with SDF 2.0
Watch out this page to look for more similar videos.

Please watch how MP Lok Sabha Candidate Shri P D Rai debates in Parliament!
Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️

कृपया हेर्नुहोस् कि लोकसभा सांसद उम्मेदवार श्री पी.डी. राई संसदमा कसरी बहस गर्न सक्छन्!
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️


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06/04/2024

I am personally delighted by the number of people reaching out to me and showing their support on the ground, through social channels and whatsapp.
It gives me so much more energy to work better for our people and our state.

I dedicate my today's post to all the people who are supporting us and are constantly working for our SDF campaign. To those who have been continuously giving me feedback over the call and through my whatsapp. I am taking all your advices into consideration and working towards our overall betterment.

Your great and continued support will never go unnoticed.

Tomorrow, I will be accompanying our Hon'ble Party President to Yangang with Shri M. K S***a. We look forward to see you with the same level of support and enthusiasm. AAO SIKKIM BACHAU.

Please feel free to reach out to me on the ground and on whatsapp.
Our campaign number is: 9091026963 (whatsapp only)

Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️




Sikkim Bachao Abhiyan Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) New Way SDF 2.0 SDF News SDF 15-Yangang Rangang SDF Rangang Yangang - 2.0 Pawan Chamling MK S***a SDF Party -Chief Spokesperson
Sikkim Chronicle Sikkim Express Talk Sikkim

06/04/2024

आऔं साथी,
लागौं प्रगति पटी!

AAO SAATHI,
LAAGAU PRAGATI PATI!

Mass joining at Barfung Constituency.

Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️

06/04/2024

सिक्किमको प्रगति, सिक्किमेको कर्तव्य।
सिक्किमको प्रगति, तिम्रो हाम्रो जिम्मेवारी।

SIKKIM KO PRAGATI, SIKKIMAY KO DUTY.
SIKKIM KO PRAGATI, TIMRO HAAMRO ZIMMAWARI.




Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️

Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) SDF News SDF 09 Barfung Constituency Pawan Chamling Sikkim Bachao Abhiyan Talk Sikkim Sikkim Chronicle Sikkim Express

06/04/2024

मन जोडौं, हात जोडौं!
सिक्किमलाई अगाडि बढाऔं!

MANN JODAU, HAATH JODAU!
SIKKIM LAI AGAADI BADAU!

Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️

06/04/2024

MP Lok Sabha Candidate Shri P D Rai debate in Parliament!
In this video, he is fighting for better roads and infrastructure in our state.
Vote PEACE ☮️ . Vote YOUTH ✌️. Vote SDF. ☂️
शान्तिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्☮️। समृद्धिका लागि मत दिनुहोस्। एसडीएफलाई मत दिनुहोस् ।☂️














Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) New Way SDF 2.0 Sikkim Express Sikkim Chronicle Sikkim Bachao Abhiyan Talk Sikkim Northeast Webshots

04/04/2024

MP Lok Sabha candidate PD Rai toured West Sikkim, covering 6 constituencies in 3 days.
People have 3 major complaints on the current SKM government
1. Lack of PEACE
2. Bad roads, no investment done by SKM, no maintenance of roads
3. Rural distress, no funds for villages

Let us get SDF back to power! Jai SDF!
Please watch the video for more details!

पी.डी. राईले पश्चिम सिक्किममा ३ दिनमा ६ वटा निर्वाचन क्षेत्रहरू समेटेर भ्रमण गरे।
मानिसहरूसँग वर्तमान एसकेएम सरकारको बारेमा ३ वटा गुनासाहरू छन्:

१. शान्तिको अभाव
२. खराब सडकहरू, एसकेएम द्वारा गरिएको कुनै पनि लगानी छैन, सडकको कुनै पनि संरक्षण भएको छैन
३. ग्रामीण संकट, गाउँहरूका लागि कुनै कोष छैन

आउनुहोस्, हामी एसडीएफलाई फेरी सत्तामा ल्याउँ! जय एसडीएफ!
कृपया थप विवरणहरूका लागि भिडियो हेर्नुहोस्!

30/03/2024

Live from Rangpo

29/03/2024

16/06/2022

𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 - 𝐒𝐃𝐅@𝟑𝟎 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐞

- 𝑃.𝐷. 𝑅𝑎𝑖

The Sikkim Democratic Front Party (SDF) has completed thirty years as an active and socially relevant political entity. There are many out there who would like that this Party descends into chaos and oblivion and are doing so out of malice and political enmity. That, unfortunately for them, will never happen. This party will continue to gain in strength having shed a lot of dead wood after the loss in 2019. Since then the SDF Party is in opposition having learnt key lessons.

There are fundamental reasons for why this party will not only survive but also thrive and I would like to place them before our readers. This is so very important to understand. And what better time than the celebration of three decades of service to the people of Sikkim on the 4th March, 2022.

I do not want to dwell on the twenty-five years of great governance the SDF Party gave to Sikkim from 1994 till 2019 under the leadership of Party President and Founder Pawan Chamling. These are articulated well in so many other forums and ways. I would like to talk of something much deeper that will change the conversation and discourse at the intellectual level.

But first, let us turn the spotlight to some foundational issues. Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union in 1975 on the strength of the 36th Amendment of the Constitution of India and the insertion of Article 371 F. This has been used as a shield to help us navigate the existential issues of being Sikkimese. The major agreements in principle were that India would respect the identity of Sikkim and Sikkimese and also the aspirations of the people under a democratic setup. This was mainly in spirit as the letter cannot capture everything. So the reality is that there is a chipping away of much of the spirit as time passes – the elderly who laid this foundation have mostly left us and with them that societal memory. This ‘dilution’ if I may call it that, is manifested in so many issues that are problematic that we are confronting daily. For instance, in the loss of forest cover and felling of trees on one pretext or the other. Or perhaps, more deeply, the feeling of overall loss by most Sikkimese youth and others. I too feel it and think that we are not protecting our land enough for the welfare and well-being of our future generations.

Are we not surrendering our Constitutional autonomy in lieu of local political arrangement?

The SDF continues to espouse that spirit – that spirit has been captured as institutional memory and which finds a place in our ideology and in our work; amply demonstrated from our record of manifestoes and implementation over the last thirty years. For instance, it is a local party and has never had any electoral alliances or relationships with any National Party. This is in itself a huge accomplishment now that we see the kind of inroads that have happened in the political arena in Sikkim currently.

A look at the electoral record says it all. Always the people of Sikkim have placed their trust fully in local parties. That is easy enough to see. After 1975 we have had elections in 1979 which was won by the Sikkim Janata Parishad and with that Nar Bahadur Bhandari came to the fore. Subsequently, elections happened in 1985 and 1989 when Bhandari and the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, again was given the mandate by the people of Sikkim pitted against the Indian National Congress. In 1994 the Sikkim Democratic Front Party under Pawan Chamling was preferred to by the people. Then the SDF won the next four elections; the people’s choice. A local party with solid credentials. Even in 2019 the SDF had polled more votes but lost out on the seats in terms of distribution to the current incumbent.

SDF is founded on solid principles and that is what is attracting fresh talent and younger leaders. That is what is keeping the Party together. The Party is open to every Sikkimese who wants to be active in politics. It is through politics that we create the societal wherewithal for realising our future. We espouse a deep democratic culture with secular and inclusive tradition. More than all of this is that this is a Party that was born from the grassroots to bring in social justice and economic upliftment not just for a few but for every Sikkimese. This has no doubt been achieved in good measure.

It is above all a Party that is truly Sikkimese People-Centric – it was so in 1994 and it is always going to be. Always putting the people of Sikkim and their interests first above everything else. These values are unchanging and will continue to be nurtured.

It is a party that has future-proofed itself – with the kind of uncertainty that has overtaken the world – climate change or pandemic related. These various externalities have brought in huge governance challenges. These challenges would have been addressed very differently by us. Take for instance the Climate Change crisis. We have taken this issue head-on by being a Party from the start that espoused green principles. We are in that sense have been a green party which worked on protecting the forests and trees. We were strict on these issues.

It is so very important that the Mountains have to be protected and that is what we have done. Our work extended to getting people to govern themselves as well.

It is a party with imagination – the young and the old combine to make it formidable – to make governance work for all through devolution and decentralisation. The young and senior leaders will work together. The women leaders who have joined our efforts are torch bearers. The elder statesmen will mentor the younger leaders to become the leaders for the future. For in this is the real passing of the baton. And above all the SDF has in its fold some of the best talent, thought leaders and sound leadership.

And therefore It is the party that will lift the Sikkimese people out of the abyss that we are in at the moment. Today it is altogether evident that we have lost our way. We cannot sleep without wondering if we will be burgled by some miscreants from ‘Munsong’ or if anyone will be manhandled. This is the reality of today. These are deeply troubling times.

So if the people of Sikkim want peace and prosperity then there are no options available in terms of which political party can achieve it. We have done it in the past and we will do it again in the future. We continue to harbour that spirit on which the 36th Amendment of the Constitution of India was based. The touchstone is - does the Party put Sikkim and Sikkimese first not just in rhetoric but in practice too? To not only talk but get the economic engine up and running and put money in people’s hands. The blueprint for the next 25 years is already on the anvil. In that it is a Party with both sense and direction.

The people of Sikkim will certainly return the SDF in 2024 under the leadership of Pawan Chamling and his mantra of collective leadership. And for all the reasons cited above and more.

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘪𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.)

13/06/2022

𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
- 𝑃.𝐷. 𝑅𝑎𝑖

𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 – 𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢𝐦 – 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

Let us not destroy Sikkim. An important question to ask ourselves is ‘where can you go and feel completely at home’? Not Delhi or elsewhere.

But then complete lack of application of mind by the powers that be is creating a huge burden and anxiety being felt by all, more so, the Sikkimese youth whose future is being jeopardised.

The title of this piece is a reminder to myself in particular. It is as if I have woken up from a deep reverie. Never in my last thirty years of political life have I ever felt this way. Today, we are witness to all governance systems breaking down and local systemic drivers being replaced by outside influencers and mindless initiatives. I will elaborate on this and also juxtapose it with the phenomenon of young people seeking the Sikkim Democratic Front Party out.

There is deep concern and disgruntlement amongst many Sikkimese but especially the youth of Sikkim. Students are rusticated for minor lapses, that is if one wants to be considerate to the College principal. Or are bullied into obedience. The space for questioning by youth is vanishing rapidly. This is an ordeal that was never faced by young people since they all grew up during the governance of the SDF Party under the erstwhile Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling. These are indeed terrible and oppressive times. It gives a flavour of years gone by during the Bhandari regime.

This disgruntlement in part explains the extraordinary turnout of young people into the Sikkim Democratic Front Party (SDF) fold on the 4th of March – two weeks ago. We celebrated our 30th Foundation Day. The sea of young faces was a sight to behold especially during the joining ceremony.

But does disgruntlement only explain the newfound love for SDF? It does not. The phenomenon is not a cause-and-effect one. It is multi-layered and needs better understanding and deconstruction.

In 2019, the SDF Party narrowly lost the Assembly elections. That was the fractured mandate of the people and SDF Party was obliged to sit in opposition. That is the way democracy works. And this has to be internalised by all political elements and entities. We all understand that. But what was then not understood was how the SDF Party went into deep depression with the exodus of many of our MLAs and other senior leaders and ‘time-tested’ cadres at the local level. This needs to be better explained. The narrative built by the SKM Party is that once a Party loses it will never come back in power. They never imagined that there has been and can be contrarian thinking to that position.

There is an American saying, attributed to JF Kennedy’s father – ‘When the going gets tough – the tough get going!’ – also the lyrics of a song.

The loss of ‘senior leaders and seasoned politicians in droves’ only went on to make the Party more resilient. People who shouted from the rooftops that Chamling was their leader today are shamelessly speaking against him and the SDF; shows their worth as politicians. Twenty-five years in power for a Party like ours certainly breeds all kinds of Party elements – or so-called leaders. People who are in there for milking the system. They are the ones who end up becoming the sycophants and start working the grapevine.

Hence their exodus has instilled a sense of reality into the SDF Party and the Party President himself has acknowledged it in his speeches. We must never forget that this is the bane that ‘corrupts’ all parties. The same folks now populate the SKM Party.

But this process has had a major outcome. It has redeemed our Party of the deadwood and those who were creating a culture of political trading within the Party. I scratch your back and you do the same for me. But above all it created the space for fresh faces to emerge and proffered opportunities to younger leaders to get seasoned and show their mettle within the last two and half years. Fresh energy keeps pouring into our Party. And the Party is now not only alive and kicking but ready to take on the ruling elite who have taken Sikkim into an abyss and continues on this perilous path.

It is a complete sell out. Just one question will settle this. What was the need to propose to build a National Yoga and Meditation Institute at Gurudongmar by the Chief Minister? Whose grandiose plan is this? Isn’t the lake already embroiled in controversy? It is a pristine sanctified place and should be left like it is – to the Gods. Even to ensure that there is less carbon footprint if looked at from a Climate Change perspective. But then we cannot expect this Government to think through all of this holistically. They never have and never can. Adhoc-ism is what this Government is beset with and like we keep hearing that it is being driven from outside the State in a ridiculous political arrangement of give and take.

They keep failing the people of Sikkim in this manner. Sikkim cannot be sold out like this. Need we remind you of the lofty promises the SKM Party has made. Fulfil them. Time is running out.

These kinds of mindless acts which have not been thought through or have had any proper people consultation is the hall mark of this Government. Another recent controversy on how a Saffron Leader (Yuvacharya Abhaydas Maharaj) provoked controversy by speaking openly against the Christian community. Why do we allow these kinds of people to come and divide our society? How does it help? But we now know that the present Chief Minister is certainly not in charge of what is happening in Sikkim. That is dangerous and a failure of the highest order.

That is why Sikkimese youth are so frustrated. Those who supported this Government are now seeing their own folly. SDF Party is a Sikkim and Sikkimese first Party. It has always acted in that manner and will continue to do so in the future.

These and many other principles and values of the Party are attracting our young and public-spirited individuals to the Party. Recent additions to be noted are Arun Limboo and Rikzing Norbu Bhutia who have added the colour and given a tremendous boost to the very rationale of what a political party should be doing especially in governing and future proofing Sikkim.

Their interviews and speeches are to be noted for their reasons for joining. You can find it here: https://fb.watch/bzUiOHNK15/

Thus, it is clear that the wind is changing. The sails will be up and the Captain Chamling will sound the full speed ahead mantra. This will not be an easy path to take but one we all must take as it is not a question of just development but it is a question of our identity and our home and the future that we want to build.

Robert Frost is to be quoted here from his poem – The Road Not Taken.
𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦:
𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐—
𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺,
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘪𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.)

07/06/2022

𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
- 𝑃.𝐷. 𝑅𝑎𝑖

𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞?

The answer to the question posed in the topic is an emphatic yes. Traffic jams in Gangtok have gone nightmarish. That this would happen has been foreseen by many a citizen plus discussed in stakeholder meetings in Chintan Bhawan and elsewhere. But this year it was much more severe with commuters taking two to three hours to cover a mere 10 kilometres. The rush of tourists, who were seemingly the cause, was a common phenomenon across the Himalaya.

Climate Change induced temporary migration into the cooler climes is new. The heat wave in the northern plains of the country compounded by unseasonal rain has made life hell. Hence those who had the money to travel did so with a vengeance. The result, a deluge of Climate Tourists all across the Himalaya – not a single Mountain City was spared. Reportage from across the Himalayan States talked of this phenomenon as bizarre where visitors were much more than the carrying capacity of the place. Of course, the Covid 19 lockdowns added to this rise in travel in no small measure. But we have to understand that this is the trend of the future. When the earth heats up, many more millions from the plains are going to seek refuge in the Himalaya.

So how are we preparing for it? Tourism is central to the economy of the Himalayan States and that includes Sikkim. We have to be concerned and planning better for the scenario that I have outlined above.

Bringing in notifications like odd – even car rules for the private car owners is not the way to go. Before long, most car owners are going to have two cars if not already, adding to problem we are trying to solve. This is, therefore, poor thinking. Systemic solutions are to be thought through.

5th June 2022, was World Environment Day. Sweden is the host country with a slogan ‘Only One Earth’. This is a good time to reflect on our present existential issues and do some deep thinking and deep dive into finding out what are the dynamics. Let us start at the very top.

During the COP26, held between 31st Oct to 13th Nov 2021 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Modi committed India’s position in announcing that India will become net-zero emitter by 2070.

This was one of the five major commitments or "panchamrit" he made on behalf of India, to mitigate climate change. The rest are as follows:
• India will bring its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030
• India will bring its economy's carbon intensity down to 45 per cent by 2030
• India will fulfil 50 per cent of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030
• India will reduce 1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions from the total projected

All these commitments were widely applauded. The heavy lifting now is for all of us to do to make this a reality. It has to be done individually as well as collectively.

Recently on 4th June 2022, I was in New Delhi where the Ministry of Tourism held a Summit on Developing Sustainable & Responsible Tourist Destinations and responsible Traveller campaign. Releasing the Sustainable Tourism Strategy document and pathways into achieving the above, there was a call to heed the warnings and get onto the sustainability track for all stakeholders by Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, Government of India. Many from the industry and the State Governments took part in this one day event.

This is a most welcome step and all of us must embrace this. There is intent as well as recognition that Tourism which is a net emitter of carbon, almost 8 percent, will have to be brought down, if we are to achieve any of the goals set before us by the Prime Minister.

I was asked to speak on ‘Carbon Neutrality in the Tourism Destinations’. I took recourse to looking at the outputs generated when our then farsighted Government led by Pawan Chamling, had launched a study to find out if indeed Sikkim was carbon neutral. This was done in 2017 with data points up until 2015. The good news is that we were carbon negative then. But, the bad news was that we were sliding rapidly into becoming carbon neutral and then carbon positive. With the deluge of tourists of 2022 we can be reasonably certain that we may have already breached into Carbon positive territory or very near it. The Sikkim Climate Inventory & Monitoring S (SCIMS) was designed by the IORA Ecological Solutions with funding from Shakti Foundation, is perhaps not working at the moment as it was to monitor this very trend. Warnings as well as the recommendations have been proffered.

Currently we need to know how bad the situation is. Data is the oil of the future and we have a chance of doing something extraordinary here for the Himalaya by gathering valuable data.

So, the study has given us an idea what is carbon neutrality a function of and poses a question as to whether tourism can ever become carbon neutral? Whatever the answer to that question the strategy to de-carbonise our tourism sector has to be given a boost. We cannot be continuing on the same path. The State Governments led by the Central Government have a huge role to play in promoting low carbon tourism.

The Summit emphasised just this and the Ministry unveiled the seven pillars of Sustainability in tourism.

They are – Promoting Environmental Sustainability; protecting the environment; promoting economic sustainability; promoting cultural sustainability; scheme for certification of sustainable tourism; IEC and Capacity Building and Governance.

This pretty much sums up the what to do portion?
How to do it?

The stakeholders like our transporters, hoteliers, homestay owners, travel agents and others have to accept that we have a massive issue at stake. Business as usual will ruin everything and there are enough examples of ruination of destinations from around the Himalaya and the nation at large. Once we have accepted then we have to find ways and means of decarbonising which is really using renewables in our energy mix. The one thing that Sikkim has in plenty is hydropower. We have to use this to ensure that our transporters use this instead of fossil fuels. Convert quickly to electric vehicles. Build charging stations. On both these fronts the present Government is dragging its feet.

Building codes which embed green architectural insight is now not an option. It should be mandated. Any new building coming up must use the sunlight and make it environmentally friendly.

Above all let us not cut down trees. The present Government has allowed for gross violation on this front. It must put an end to this. Let us plant more trees. Sikkim’s only sink for sequestration is our forests and our soil. We must not upset our soil by unnecessarily which then get washed down into the Teesta due to heavy down pours again, in part, due to Climate Change.

Let us apply Zero Waste in every tourist attraction. Let us create a curriculum that helps our students realise the importance of all of these environmental issues.

There is so much we can do individually and collectively. However, all this must start with the systemic change that is so essential.

Hope this goes down well with our readers and stakeholders in the tourism industry. Action on a sustained basis is the need of the minute. Not by building more but by building better and not just to decongest the roads but in ensuring the Himalaya and with it our future, is sustained.

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘪𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.)

04/06/2022

Shri Prem Das Rai, former MP and current President of Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) attended National Summit on Developing Sustainable and Responsible Traveller Campaign today at Hotel Ashok, New Delhi.

https://twitter.com/tourismgoi/status/1532981257516490752?s=20&t=-cnxiqLdBW6BcU8qSb6YSg

04/06/2022

𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
- 𝑃.𝐷. 𝑅𝑎𝑖

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐊𝐌’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 – 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 – 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨?

To everyone, the just concluded Budget Session which barely lasted four days, was a total farce.

Of course, except for the Government and Treasury benches. In fact if one listened carefully to the founder and working President of Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) then it is altogether clear that no one is satisfied with this dismal show of just having a Budget Session for the sake of fulfilling a constitutional requirement. The check box is ticked but where is the real substance?

The fact that the entire SKM Party is hung up on the seven minutes allotted to SDF Party President Pawan Chamling shows the level of problems that the ruling party had in giving time to the former Chief Minister of Sikkim to place his views and questions. Had he been given enough time to speak in the House he definitely would have taken the Government to the cleaners. Now, he has promised to do so by taking the matter to the people’s court. Therein lies the problem for Jacob Khaling and his ilk.

On the one hand, Jacob Khaling says that no issues of the people were raised in the seven minutes allotted time; on the other the same was fully interrupted by the Treasury benches which included the leader of the House. Khaling may like to try to bring out all the issues of the people in seven minutes for good measure; perhaps when he gets to becoming a Member of the Sikkim Assembly. So this is the quandary that the SKM has to deal with; tying themselves in knots over this seven minutes dilemma.

Be that as it may, the fact that there was a strategy to prevent the SDF President from speaking was amply clear and, all in all, it played out well for them. However, the optics was all wrong for the ruling Party. A muted Speaker of the House, by doing nothing added to the overall strain in the House. Expunging an unparliamentary speech or parts thereof is a routine affair. The rules of procedure are very clear on this aspect. The Leader of the House cannot and should not use the privilege to lambast a Member on personal issues. All Members have, including the Leader of the House, an equal standing in the House. This kind of behaviour is unbecoming of a Chief Minister.

So let that rest for now knowing fully well that the people of Sikkim will be able to gauge for themselves if the House had indeed discussed people centric issues and debated on them.
For we all know that huge sums have been allocated to big ticket projects like the Soreng Institution of Excellence, a private venture, rather than completion of a myriad smaller but important projects all over the State that needed them more. This fact is corroborated in the reports of the CAG Sikkim.

Now over to another interesting subject that surfaced in the House.

Covered in yesterday’s papers is the response on EQUIP – Education Quality Improvement Program. This is a response by Komal Chamling to an issue raised by Aditya Golay MLA. Komal Chamling headed the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Program under an Executive Board chaired by Director SCERT. The program was funded by the NEC as a pilot project and it was to usher in a 21st Century approach to education especially during the formative years of the students. There was no budgetary allocation.

This project was inspired by the Finland education system which is considered the gold standard in education. The Ambassador of Finland along with a Finnish team visited Sikkim to impart training and awareness. She also assured us of all help needed.

Along with Minister R. B. S***a, I was a co-chair of the project. We went through a process of discussion and deliberation with all stakeholders which included Principals and officials of the Department before finalising the program. This followed a similar paradigm as was done by the Delhi Government.

This question of imparting quality education is not new. Yesterday’s edition of Sikkim Express highlights this through the opinion of Anish Sharma. He argues that even though there is free education with intense political slugfest going on, the reality is that the free is not really free and education quality is so poor that it serves no purpose.

His article brings out the frustration of young people since the idea of education is for ensuring social and economic mobility. That these aspirations are not being fulfilled is a huge issue amongst the youth. And therefore it is a bane. He writes “So, education, despite being free, has become extremely expensive in Sikkim. This has forced us to question whether we are really governed by a welfare oriented Government.”

I argue that EQUIP was designed to usher in a long term systemic change in the leadership and quality education delivery system in all Government schools. It was to address these core issues that have been brought out by Anish. There is great learning from the project and hopefully the Government will be alerted to this fact too.

Today, we are still to hear from the Government what they intend to do to bridge the gap of education that has happened thanks to the pandemic. Two years of learning have been lost and the worst affected are those in rural areas. It is evident form Anish’s article that he is talking about the frustrations of rural youth in particular.

This is why a State Economic Revival Committee was set up. It was to understand holistically how to address all the economic and other related issues like education disruption. But there is no transparency what happened to the Committee Report. A member of that Committee spoke in Kalimpong about this Report and said that very large amount of funds were allocated by the Centre. The Government must come clean on this one. How much was received and where did it go?

So in conclusion we would like the EQUIP program to be probed alongside the entire education system. And then this must be debated in the House as now the subject matter has come up in the House. However, the probe must include issues articulated by Anish too as they are fully related.

Furthermore, what has been the role of the Secretary Education. G. P. Upadhyaya, in all of this? He has now served in that post for well over seven years. What are his achievements? That might also come to light too in this process.

This matter should not be made into another seven minutes dilemma.

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘪𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.)