Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again hit the headlines as he inaugurated Sikkim’s first ever airport at Pakyong today and India got its 100th operational airport which is located at an altitude of 4,500 feet. The project was built at a cost of around Rs 605.59 crore.
This is Sikkim’s evergreen dream to have an airport and finally, after 9 years, their dream came true. Sikkim people are extremely happy after hearing the good news. “India has hit a century,” PM Narendra Modi said. The state has no rail link and the nearest airport in West Bengal’s Bagdogra is not so near as it is 125 km away.
According to the sources, commercial flights would start from October 4 when SpiceJet would start its daily Kolkata-Sikkim flights. “It is a historic day not only for Sikkim but also an important day for the country. Our country now has 100 airports. Since Independence till 2014, the country had only 65 airports but in the past four years, we have set up 35 more airports,” Modi said.
“We are committed to making the Northeast as the engine of India’s growth story. For the first time since Independence, stress has been given on increasing connectivity by both air and rail, electricity in remote areas of the Northeast and building infrastructure,” he said.
The airport is located around 60 km from the Indo-China border which is expanded across over 201 acres. It is located on the peak of a hill about two km above Pakyong village at a towering 4,500 feet above sea level, Sikkim Chief Secretary A K Srivastava said in a statement.
According to ANI, PM quoted, “Work is progressing at a high pace to strengthen both, infrastructural&emotional connectivity to Sikkim&Northeast. I’ve been there myself to check the development work in Northeast&Union Ministers regularly visit the region: PM Modi at the inauguration of Pakyong Airport, Gangtok.”
(With inputs from online desk)
