As in compliance with an order from the Centre, the heath officials in Sikkim has already culled over 10,160 chickens at the Bird Flu affected area of Rabangla till Wednesday’s evening while more are in the process of being culled.

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.

Officials confirmed the presence of deadly H5N1 virus in Sikkim's South district. High Security Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal confirmed the presence of the deadly virus in samples of 30 birds that were sent to it for testing.

Animal husbandry and veterinary services department joint director K C Bhutia said: "We are awaiting the arrival of a Central team following which the culling operations would start in the affected region in which between 5,000 and 8,000 birds will be culled."

Punj Lloyd Ltd has made an announcement that the company has been awarded a contract worth Rs 264 crore by Airports Authority of India. The order has been bagged for building first greenfield airport at Pakyong, Sikkim.

A rare print of Satyajit Ray’s controversial film, ‘Sikkim’, has been restored by the Oscars Academy, and will be shown during the 14th Kolkata Film Festival to be held from November 10 to 17.

The documentary film, made in 1971, was banned by Indian censors for glorifying monarchy in a Himalayan kingdom that acceded to India. Commissioned by the then Chogyal King of Sikkim and his wife, the film earned censorship both from them and from the Indian government after the state’s accession to India in 1975.

Gangtok, Nov. 3 (ANI): Nestled in the lap of Himalayas, Sikkim despite being a tiny State has carved out a name in the field of football. Recently Sikkim hosted the 30th edition of All India Governor''s Gold Cup, one of the premier football tournaments in the country with utmost festive spirit.

Leading teams from various parts of India have been participating in this tourney held at Gangtok.

To name a few teams, ITI, HAL, MEG and CIL from Bangalore, Titanium and Alind from Kerala, Salgaokar, SESA Goa, Dempo and Vasco from Goa, Tata, Mafatlal and Mahindra & Mahindra from Mumbai apart from teams from West Bengal, Punjab and Assam have taken part in this tournament.