'Promote sports to solve unemployment in Sikkim'

Gangtok, Jan 26: Sikkim Governor V Rama Rao today expressed his concern over the growing unemployment problem and unrest among the youths in the state and suggested to vigorously promote and exploit the potentials of the sportspersons to meet the challenge.

Unfurling the national flag at a state level function on occasion of the 57th Republic Day, the governor said though the government had taken a number of steps towards capacity building through skill upgradation for generating more employment opportunities, much more needed to be done in the 11th five year plan.

Better and more sports infrastructure needed to be developed and youth should be encouraged to take up sports as a career option to overcome the unemployment problem, Mr Rao suggested.

Detailing the achievement of the government in various field, the governor said the government was targeting tourism, human resource development, horticulture, floriculture and hydro power development as thrust areas where scope for employment generation was more.

In addition to it small scale village industries and organic farming had also vast scope for livelihood in the state, he said and appealed to the people to work hard to make the state progressive and forward looking.

Mr Rao also stressed the need for continuing the thrust on human resource development and efficient use of both capital and human resources to keep the state in good stead.

In a message Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said infrastructure development and limited access put a challenge to the overall development initiatives in the state.

He said the government had taken a number of inititiaves to overcome the problem.

Mr Chamling said road connectivity to each habitation will be completed and improvement and extension of state highways will be undertaken within two years.

Double laning of Silguri-Nathula national highway will be completed soon and the proposed airport at Paykong will be made operational within next two years.

The Chief Minister said the government had launched a number of skill upgradation programmes and called upon the youth to take advantage of it.

Mr Chamling said though the state had a liberal investment policy, good labour laws and peaceful atmosphere and huge scope for opening small and medium enterprises still it failed to attract desired amount of investment.

He called upon to utilise the limited resources of the state in an environment friendly and ecologically friendly manner for the sustainable development of the state.

UNI