Lachen: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday visited the Gurudongmar Lake during an expedition to villages in the border area.
The holy lake, which is located near the Indo-China border, is situated at an elevation of 17,800 feet in the Mangan district.
During her visit, the Union Finance Minister interacted with the army personnel stationed in the area and offered her prayers at the holy Gurudongmar Lake. The MLA from the Mangan-Lachen constituency, Samdup Lepcha, who is also the Roads and Bridges Minister, accompanied her on the expedition.
On Tuesday evening, Sitharaman attended a Credit Outreach Programme organized by the State Level Bankers Committee and State Bank of India at Dzumsa Hall in Lachen.
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During her address, the Finance Minister emphasized the importance of Lachen standing out as a vibrant village in comparison to others. To achieve this, she assigned the responsibility to the self-governing traditional administrative system of Dzumsa from Lachen and Lachung. The Finance Minister emphasized the need to provide basic necessities to border villages and stressed the importance of establishing infrastructure for development in various sectors, particularly in tourism. She also mentioned that the Government of India, along with entities like SBI and NABARD, would provide assistance to ensure that these developments reach the people. As a result, the locals were encouraged to take advantage of the various incentives and schemes offered by the Government of India.
Lachen Mangan MLA Samdup Lepcha highlighted issues that the people are facing due to poor connectivity, transportation, climate and so on.
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