The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) granted approval to the Sikkim government to set up new infrastructure at the Sikkim Nationalised Transport Complex — popularly known as the SNT Complex — located in ward 3 of Siliguri on Friday.
The approval, which was withheld by the civic body for years, was issued within 24 hours of Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay) meeting his Bengal counterpart Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna in Calcutta and mentioning the issue in their talks.
Vir Vikram Rai, the commissioner of the SMC, sent a letter to the secretary of the transport department of Sikkim, stating that the civic body had approved the plan.
The government of Sikkim, which shares borders with Bengal, has drawn up a plan to build a 10-storey healthcare and guest house building at the SNT Complex, or the bus terminus from where state-run buses of Sikkim operate.
“There is a plan to build a basement-plus-ground floor-plus 10-storey bus terminus, healthcare and guest house on the campus,” said a source.
“It is definitely a major development. People from Sikkim who come to Siliguri for treatment and other errands can now use an accommodation run by their state government,” said a senior doctor based in Siliguri.
Golay thanked Adhikari. “This important proposal had remained unnecessarily stalled under the previous Trinamool Congress government for a considerable period. This approval will greatly benefit countless patients from Sikkim who travel to Siliguri for medical treatment by providing them with much-needed accommodation and support during difficult times,” he wrote on social media.
The decision, Golay stated, hinted that the present government of Bengal was committed to strengthening cooperation and working hand in hand with the Sikkim government for the mutual benefit of people of both states.