Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling on Friday said the development activities in the State have derailed due to frequent blockades of its sole road link with the rest of country since 1986 in the wake of intensified Gorkhaland agitation.
“Sikkim has become a vulnerable State. We should not be held hostage (to Gorkhaland agitation) anymore,” he said.
Sikkim’s development activities have derailed due to frequent blockade of the National Highway 31A since 1986 with intensified agitation for Gorkhaland, Mr. Chamling told the inaugural summit of the North-East MP Forum (NEMPF) here.
The greatest challenge to Sikkim was to keep the NH 31A open to secure basic requirements like food security, he said.
Mr. Chamling asked the MPs of the North-East to take up the matter to ensure that the “lifeline remained open around the clock“.
He also said that the state has a sensitive location as it shares its border with China, Nepal and Bhutan.
Mr. Chamling had raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of the state vis-a-vis political agitation in Darjeeling hills at a meeting on internal security at New Delhi on February 7 chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
