Thursday, October 11, 2007

Railway Minister assures Sikkim on railhead, airport


GANGTOK, Oct 10 – The lone Rajya Sabha MP from Sikkim, OT Lepcha, confirmed the receipt in written from the Minister for Railways and Civil Aviation that he has assured to sympathetically consider the requests made by the Sikkim Government for a railhead and an airport.This was stated in a letter by the Union Minister to Sikkim Rajya Sabha MP OT Lepcha.Sikkim which is landlocked, has a sensitive border with China, another pressing reason for the railhead and airport. Lepcha said that the Railway Ministry has assured speedy commissioning of a detailed survey for extention of the track from Sevoke upto the border at Rangpo.However, due to non-viability economically (- 34 per cent return projected by the last survey against a cost of Rs 1,000 crore), the Ministry is considering roping in financing partners from the Government of India to move ahead.