The Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) has initiated the process of resuming helicopter services between Gangtok and Bagdogra.

On Thursday, an MI-172 helicopter conducted a trial run and landed at the Burtuk heliport near Gangtok. “We will soon resume helicopter services in association with Sky One Airways Limited. The service will be available depending on the weather conditions,” said a source in STDC.

In June, the Sikkim tourism and civil aviation department had decided to replace the MI-172 helicopter with 10-seater light choppers.

The service, which was introduced in March 2024, was withdrawn as it failed to
draw passengers.

However, in due course, it was decided to resume the service with the same
MI-172 chopper.

“The helicopter will have 20 seats with a one-day fare of ₹4,500. A passenger can carry a hand baggage weighing up to 10kg,” the source said.

Those associated with the tourism industry have welcomed the initiative. “Tourists will start reaching Sikkim from the third week of next month during the festive season. A section of them want to avail the chopper service, and if it is introduced by then, it will boost the industry,” said Debasish Chakraborty, the general secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association.

Digital initiatives

Raju Basnett, the minister of education, sports & youth Affairs, and law and parliamentary affairs, launched two digital initiatives, NIRPEKSH and SciMatix AI, on the occasion of Independence Day at Pakyong in Sikkim on Friday.

NIRPEKSH, a web portal for the disaster records management system, was developed by the IT section of the district administration centre of Pakyong.

“It has been designed to manage disaster records at the district level. Through this portal, details of all beneficiaries who have received government funds for losses because of natural disasters will be recorded and linked to their respective land plot numbers. This system will help prevent duplication of applications and will ensure that no individual receives multiple benefits under more than one scheme,” said a source.

SciMatix AI, the other initiative, has been developed by a tech firm from Pakyong to address poor learning outcomes in mathematics and science among students studying from Class VI to Class IX.

It is an AI-based mobile application and will help improve the performance of students in these subjects, sources said.