Gangtok, Sep 29 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday arrived in Sikkim on a daylong visit to assess and review the damage caused by the Sep 18 earthquake.

Singh made an aerial survey of the worst-affected north Sikkim areas.

"On arrival in Gangtok after making the aerial survey, the prime minister visited the injured at the Sikkim Manipal Hospital," a government spokesperson said.

Gangtok, Sep 22 : Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday reached quake-hit Sikkim to assess ongoing rescue and relief efforts.

He will be briefed about the situation on the ground and on the relief camps set up by the state administration, police and central forces.

Earlier, addressing mediapersons, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling conceded that property worth rupees one trillion had been destroyed by the devastating earthquake.

Gangtok, Jan 4 : Sikkim which is situated amidst Himalayan Hills is a paradise for tourists. Now the state Government has stepped up its efforts to promote many Budhist sites and festivals as tourist’s destinations.

Kagyad chaam is the one of the four forms of masked dances in the state.

Performed by Lamas of Buddhist monastery on the every 28th and 29th day of Tibetan calendar, the dances symbolize exorcizing of evil spirits of previous year and welcoming the good spirits at the dawn of New Year.

Gangtok, Dec 25 : The Teesta River, nature’s gift to the state of Sikkim, has immense potential for the generation of hydroelectric power.

The state is now seeking to harness this potential and become self reliant in power.

Sikkim has large untapped potential for hydel power generation.

It has set the deadline of 2014 to become self-reliant in power.

Currently, the region has an installed capacity 100 MW and according to a study the state has the capacity to produce 100,000 MW.

Gangtok, Nov 21: An exhibition on cultural heritage of Manipur was recently held at Sikkim State Archives in Gangtok.

The exhibition, which commenced on November 16 and concluded on November 20, was organized by the Manipur State Museum Arts and Culture Department in collaboration with Sikkim Cultural Affair and Heritage Department.

It exhibited the cultural heritage of Manipur, including the ethnic tribes of the State from 33AD to the 18th century.

Gangtok, Nov. 4 : Two wildlife personnel got seriously injured while they were trying to catch alive a Himalayan black bear from a Sikkim village.

"We had been to the spot and we tried our level best to save by tranquillising the animal. But, there were so many other effects that the animal could not be controlled in such a way. That is why, two of our officials have been injured and one of them is in a serious condition,” said H. P Pradhan, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), Department of Forests.

Gangtok, Oct. 31 : Woven with bamboo, Sumuk Thyaptuk or the Lepcha hat, creates a fabulous piece of art that is laced with history and a deep cultural heritage associated with the indigenous Lepcha tribe.

An artisan Tengay Lepcha is using his expertise to keep this traditional art form alive.

Only a few like Tengay have been able to master the art of weaving the Lepcha hat, which requires both hard work and patience.

Gangtok, Oct 30 : Vice President Hamid Ansari on Friday laid the foundation stone of the first ever railway line (Rangpo-Sivok railway line) to Sikkim at Rangpo.

The new broad gauge railway line is between Sikkim''s small township of Rangpo and West Bengal''s border town of Sivok.

"People of Sikkim had a dream and the process of fulfilling it just started today. It is a difficult project considering that the terrain through which the line will go is difficult," Ansari said.

Gangtok, Oct 29 Describing education as the most potent instrument for social and economic mobility and for ushering in political change, Vice President M. Hamid Ansari Thursday called for empowering citizens in a meaningful manner through specified legal awareness programmes.

Speaking at a seminar "Right to Education with special reference to Sikkim and its impact on Legal Awareness Campaign" here, he praised Sikkim's "pro-active approach" towards implementation of the Right to Education Act, 2009, and said the small Himalayan state has rightly recognised the importance of education.

Gangtok, Oct 28 - Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived here Wednesday on a hectic three-day visit to Sikkim during which he will lay the foundation stone of a rail link between Rangpo in the Himalayan state and Sevoke in West Bengal.

Ansari was received at the Libing Army Helipad by Governor B. P. Singh and Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.

Gangtok, Oct 26 The farmers' community and the Sikkim government Monday demanded fertiliser subsidy reforms, saying the state, which has adopted organic agriculture policy, is not benefiting from the central government's policy of providing subsidy for chemical fertilisers.

Expressing their disappointment, farmers in the state have urged the central government to extend its fertiliser subsidy support to organic fertilisers too, while implementing the newly proposed direct subsidy system.

Gangtok, Sep 24 : The Indian Army has launched an afforestation drive in the high altitude area of East Sikkim on Wednesday.

A total of 6000 saplings have been planted in the area which includes various species like Sikkim fir, maple juniper, chinguapin, English lac, rhododendron, purple Iris, Jatamansi, Strawberry and fenugreek.

General Officer Commanding of the Black Cat Division, Major General R. S. Chopra, planted a sapling to mark the launching of the green drive.

Gangtok (Sikkim), Sep 9 : Hundreds of people came together in Gangtok recently to celebrate Tendong Lho Rum Faat, which is a festival of the indigenous tribe of Sikkim "The Lepchas".

During the festival, Lepchas offer prayers and worship Mount Tendong; the Kanchenjunga mountain range, that they believe saved them from destruction by floods.

Gangtok, July 19 : The Central Government has asked the Sikkim Government to withhold the six hydel projects in the state.

Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has refused to give environment clearance to these hydel projects.

According to official sources, Sikkim was expected to get 1047 MW power from these projects.

Gangtok, July 15 : A visually impaired bamboo artisan in Sikkim imparts training to many other disadvantaged people like him and help them gain self-reliance in life.

The 37-year-old Chandra Singh Gurung is one of the visually challenged workers offering training to enthusiastic artists under Directorate of handloom and industry in Cane and Bamboo crafts.

Tokyo  - Japan's House of Representatives (Diet) on Tuesday voted down a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Taro Aso's administration following his decision to dissolve the lower house on July 21.

Opposition parties led by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) submitted the no-confidence resolution Monday after the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party lost a Tokyo assembly election over the weekend. The DPJ gained a majority in the assembly.

Gangtok, May 19 : Sikkim Chief Minister and the Sikkim Democratic Front leader Pawan Kumar Chamling will stake claim to form new government in the State on Tuesday after submitting the resignation of his council of ministers to Governor B. P. Singh.

The new SDF government led by Chamling will take oath on May 20 (Wednesday). Preparations are underway for the hosting of the ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, the sources said.

The assembly will stand dissolved from Tuesday.

Gangtok, May 2 : An institute in Sikkim has taken the initiative to train the youngsters in carving wood.

The institute, Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft, located near the main market of Gangtok, is imparting training in the traditional art of carving and painting to the youth.

Woodcraft of various designs and patterns such as the eight lucky signs, dragons and birds of Sikkim, which are embodiment of teaching of Buddha is taught to the students.

Designs are first drawn by the students who start carving on the wood and later paint it.

Gangtok (Sikkim), Apr 18 : Authorities in Gangtok, Sikkim, have said that it will take two to three days to recover the bodies of twelve workers who drowned after the Rangpo Dam collapsed earlier this week.

Rangpo Dam is located near Rongli in East Sikkim District.

According to the officials, the tunnel is flooded with the gushing waters of the River Rongli, and efforts are still being made to retrieve the 12 bodies.

The length of the tunnel is about 1100 meters.

Gangtok, Jan 21: Culling operations are on in and around Ravangla in Sikkim.

State Animal Husbandry Department sources report that the operations are expected to last for four to five days. Nine Rapid Response Teams have been deployed to complete the operations.

Officials in Sikkim said they would initially cull an estimated 15,000 chickens and ducks.

Earlier, hundreds of thousands of birds had been culled in Assam and neighboring Meghalaya after bird flu was detected in November last year.

Experts have warned that the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people across the world.