Sikkim media delegation interacts with Chhattisgarh CM, concludes study tour

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"><b>RAIPUR, : </b>A four-day institutional exposure programme in Chhattisgarh for a 13-member media delegation from Sikkim formally concluded Thursday with a structured policy interaction with Chief Minister Vishnu DeoSai in Raipur. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The delegation will return to Sikkim on Friday, bringing to a close a tour that moved sequentially through steel production, coal extraction, highway infrastructure and finally, executive-level governance review.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The delegation, coordinated by the Press Information Bureau, was led by ManasPratim Sharma, assistant director, PIB Gangtok. Also associated with the programme were SudiptoKar, assistant director, PIB Raipur; PurushottamJha; and Sarad Basnet. The participating journalists were BenuPrakashTiwari, BikashChettri, HomanathDabari, IshwarNeopaney, ArchanaPradhan, Anushila Sharma, PrakashAdhikari, LalitDahal, VinodTamang, Mohan Kumar Karki, and Nar BahadurChettri.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Unlike a ceremonial courtesy call, the concluding interaction today functioned as a consolidation session. Having already examined production floors, mining pits and highway alignments over the past three days, the delegation used the meeting to place field observations directly before the State’s executive leadership. The discussion moved beyond broad claims and focused on implementation layers — investment inflow management, rehabilitation of surrendered cadres, delivery of welfare schemes in remote tribal belts, and infrastructure expansion in Left Wing Extremism-affected districts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The exposure visit was deliberately structured in stages. On the first operational day, the delegation assessed heavy industry at the Bhilai Steel Plant, where officials explained rail manufacturing systems, blast furnace operations and the plant’s role in national infrastructure supply chains. Delegates examined not only production capacity but also workflow management, safety compliance and downstream logistics.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The second day shifted the lens to the extractive economy at the Gevra Coal Mine, operated by South Eastern Coalfields Limited. Here, the delegation observed overburden removal, high-capacity dumpers, coal evacuation corridors and environmental safeguards. The visit contextualised how mineral extraction links to energy security and industrial continuity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">On the third day, the delegation examined forward-looking infrastructure through a site review of the Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor under the National Highways Authority of India. Engineers outlined freight optimisation models, expected travel time reduction and corridor-based economic integration. The briefing positioned highway development as a multiplier connecting mining belts, industrial clusters and port access.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Today’s meeting with the Chief Minister therefore represented the final layer of the programme — governance synthesis. Conversations covered tribal livelihood enhancement through forest produce procurement, financial support models for surrendered insurgents, rural homestay promotion, industrial investment proposals and health infrastructure expansion including the proposed MedCity project in Nava Raipur. Rather than a presentation-heavy session, the dialogue evolved into a question-led review, with delegates referencing what they had observed on-site over the previous three days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Across the four-day sequence, the programme effectively traced a developmental chain: raw material extraction, industrial processing, connectivity infrastructure and policy oversight. By the time the delegation met the Chief Minister, the discussion was anchored in direct observation rather than secondary briefing material.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">With the tour concluding today and departure scheduled for tomorrow, members of the delegation described the visit as an opportunity to evaluate how resource economies, infrastructure corridors and welfare frameworks intersect at the state level. The exposure visit closes with each of the 13 journalists now carrying first-hand field assessments back to their respective newsrooms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-IN">&nbsp;</span></p>

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