Sikkim MP presses Centre on border road project, Limboo-Tamang reservation

Gangtok, Jul 8 (PTI) Sikkim MP Indra Hang Subba on Wednesday urged the Centre to expedite a key road project along the India-Nepal border and sought to know the progress on the long-pending reservation of seats for the Limboo and Tamang tribes in the state assembly. During a meeting with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan in New Delhi, Subba submitted a detailed representation highlighting issues, according to a statement from his office. The MP stressed the need to prioritise the proposed all-weather road linking Border Outpost (BOP) Nambu with Border Pillar 34/1 and extending to BOP Hanspokhri. He said the project is crucial for improving connectivity, strengthening military logistics and enhancing operational preparedness along the India-Nepal border. Subba, the state's lone Lok Sabha MP, also raised the long-pending demand for reservation of seats for the Limboo and Tamang Scheduled Tribes in the state assembly. The Limboo and Tamang communities were included in the Scheduled Tribes list in 2003, but reservation of assembly seats for them has remained unresolved for over two decades. While acknowledging that the issue is political and falls beyond the home secretary's direct mandate, Subba sought an update on the steps being taken by the Centre to move the matter forward, the statement said. The MP also highlighted the challenging conditions faced by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel deployed in the region and sought extension of the Risk and Hardship (R1H1) Allowance to personnel of the 36 and 72 Battalions serving in high-altitude and glacial terrain. PTI CORR SOM