Sikkim witnesses over 17 lakh tourist arrivals in 2025
Gangtok (PTI): Sikkim recorded more than 17 lakh tourist arrivals in 2025, up by over 82,000 in the previous year, but the number of foreign visitors declined sharply, an official said on Wednesday.
Compared to 2024, when the state had witnessed 15,40,421 domestic tourist footfalls, the number increased to 16,35,650 in the last year.
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The count of foreign visitors declined to 71,710 in 2025 from 84,710 in the previous year.
Tourism Department Additional Chief Secretary CS Rao said efforts are underway to attract more foreign visitors and strengthen sustainable and responsible tourism practices in the state.
Explaining the reason behind the drop in foreign tourist arrivals, he said extensive road damage in October, particularly along NH-10, had adversely affected the travel plans of visitors.
He further stated that if road conditions across the state, including NH-10, continue to improve and remain stable, Sikkim can expect nearly 20 lakh tourist arrivals in the current year.
Rao also attributed the growth in domestic tourist count to the growing preference of visitors for the Himalayan state.
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Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people belonging to two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.
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"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
