PM cancels Sikkim visit due to inclement weather, to address statehood event virtually

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Gangtok to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Sikkim’s statehood on Thursday has been cancelled because of inclement weather conditions, officials said.

He will, however, attend the programme virtually, they added.

The PM was scheduled to release a commemorative coin, souvenir and stamp to mark the completion of 50 years of Sikkim as a state, the officials said.

He was also scheduled to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several projects, including a 500-bed district hospital worth over Rs 750 crore in Namchi, a passenger ropeway at Sangachoeling in Pelling in Gyalshing district, and a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji at Atal Amrit Udyan in Gangtok.