The Sikkim government will rename the Pakyong airport, the sole airport located in the mountain state that sits on the India-China border, after freedom fighter Trilochan Pokhrel.

Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay), while addressing a celebration on the occasion of the 31st Foundation Day of the Akhil Sikkim Khas Chhetri Bahun Kalyan Sangh at Rangpo on Thursday, made the announcement.

The Khas community is a sub-group of the Gorkhas.

“When communities stand together, the state advances with greater strength, and Khas Day stands as a shining example of that spirit. I also announced that Pakyong airport will be renamed after the freedom fighter late Shri Trilochan Pokhrel,” Tamang wrote on social media after the event.

Trilochan Pokhrel, who was born in the Tareythang region of Pakyong subdivision of east Sikkim, was influenced by the ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi.

Pokhrel participated in the freedom struggle during the Quit India movement of 1942. He lived with Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat and Sarvodaya Ashram in Bihar in those days.

He died in 1969. In 2018, the Sikkim government posthumously honoured him with the L. D. Kazi Award for the democratic movement.

In September 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pakyong airport, thus making it the 100th operational airport of the country. In due course, flights were introduced to Calcutta, Guwahati and Delhi, but in June 2024, flight operations were suspended because of adverse weather.

Recently, the Union civil aviation ministry took up the initiative to resume flights from Pakyong, as Sikkim residents, as well as tourists and other visiting the state, have to depend on the Bagdogra airport, located around 120km away, in Bengal.

In his speech, Golay made some other announcements, such as allocation of land and ₹20 crore to build a Khas Bhavan in Gangtok, and government holidays on February 26, August 20 and October 5 to mark Khas Diwas, the birth anniversary of former chief minister N.B. Bhandari and the day for recognition of the Nepali language, respectively.

“Our guiding principle remains Unite and Serve. When the Khas community progresses with dignity and recognition, it enriches the unity and collective strength of Sikkim as a whole,” Tamang wrote in his post.