PM inaugurates Sikkim's first airport, says wants people wearing 'hawai chappals' to travel by plane

Dedicating Sikkim's first airport at Pakyong to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday his government is committed to make the Northeast an "engine of India's growth story" and lamented the "slow pace" of development work in the region under the previous governments.

With the inauguration of the greenfield airport, the country currently has 100 airports, the prime minister noted and said "our efforts were to enable common people who wear hawai-chappals (flip-flops) to travel by 'hawai-jahaz (aeroplane)."
Modi said, "We are committed to make the Northeast an engine for India's growth story. For the first time since Independence, stress has been given on increasing connectivity by both air and rail, providing electricity in remote areas of the North East and building infrastructure."
Reiterating the slogan 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Support of all, development for all), he said, "In several states of the Northeast, work for connectivity, providing electricity, highways and infrastructure are taking place for the first time."