Sikkim govt hands over PCS Bhawan building to Press Club of Sikkim

IPR secretary Namrata Thapa and Tourism secretary Prakash Chettri presented the relevant certificate to PCS president Shekhar Khawas

By Prakash Adhikari

Sikkim government permanently handed over the four-story PCS Bhawan building to the Press Club of Sikkim (PCS) as a Foundation Day gift on Monday.

IPR secretary Namrata Thapa and Tourism secretary Prakash Chettri presented the relevant certificate to PCS president Shekhar Khawas and the executive committee during the PCS’s 21st Foundation Day celebration at Manan Kendra.

The event was attended by Speaker Arun Upreti as the chief guest, Power Minister MN Sherpa as the special guest, chairpersons, advisors, APS (Gangtok), the media fraternity, and representatives of social and sports associations. Representatives of media organizations from Kalimpong and Darjeeling were also present.

The certificate signed by both the Tourism and IPR departments attests that the “Government of Sikkim is pleased to hand over the tourism property (building premises)” to the Press Club of Sikkim. The building is located at MP Golai, Tadong, and had been partially allocated to the PCS to run its office a few years ago, but there was a lack of clarity on its usage.

Chief Minister PS Golay, during his recent meeting with the PCS executive committee, committed to allocating the said full building as PCS Bhawan to the PCS in the interest of the Sikkim media fraternity. As another support to the Sikkim media, the Chief Minister further assured that he would provide a vehicle to the PCS.

The keys to the 17-seater ‘Traveller’ vehicle were handed over to the PCS executive committee by Speaker Arun Upreti and Power Minister MN Sherpa during the foundation day bash.

Addressing the gathering, the Speaker shared his happiness at attending the PCS Foundation Day program and congratulated the PCS for reaching the 21-year milestone in existence. He also appreciated the passion shown by the media members of Sikkim towards their calling.

Upreti encouraged the journalists of Sikkim to continue with their impartial reporting without any fear or favour. At the same time, he urged them to avoid plagiarism in the rush for breaking news. When we do copy-paste journalism, mistakes made by one report proliferate without any fact checking, as it happened during the recent Assembly session, he said. He was referring to the recent Assembly session, where multiple digital media houses erroneously reported that the Speaker had walked out of the session.

On this note, the Speaker informed that the Assembly Secretariat has decided to conduct a two-day training for the Sikkim scribes on Assembly proceedings reporting.

Upreti congratulated the PCS for getting the full PCS Bhawan building and the vehicle from the State government. He also congratulated the individuals who received the awards from the PCS during the foundation day program.

Earlier in his welcome address, PCS president Shekhar Khawas thanked the Chief Minister and the State government for the PCS Bhawan, the vehicle, and all the support extended to the media fraternity of Sikkim. He informed the gathering that the Chief Minister, on a personal note, has been regularly helping journalists who are suffering from severe health problems.

Sikkim Chronicle co-founding editor Yougan Tamang presented the keynote address on the present Sikkim media landscape and media entrepreneurship.

Also Read: Sikkim Journalist Rajendra Pradhan conferred prestigious Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskhar

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