The Urban Development department on Friday, February 27, 2026, held an onboarding programme for Swachhata Ambassadors under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) at a hotel in Gangtok, aiming to boost citizen participation in urban sanitation and waste management across Sikkim. Urban Development and Food & Civil Supplies Minister Bhoj Raj Rai was the chief guest and MLA-cum-Advisor Delay Namgyal Barfungpa attended as guest of honour, as the state reaffirms its push toward a zero-waste Himalayan State.
Minister Bhoj Raj Rai praised the Swachhata Ambassadors and urged them to actively promote cleanliness initiatives, saying the government remains committed to public welfare and calling on citizens to support waste management efforts. He stressed that Sikkim has inherited a clean and green environment from earlier generations and highlighted the joint work of the Urban Development department and Gangtok Municipal Corporation in managing urban waste, while urging continued public sensitisation and the development of a zero-waste mindset.
MLA-cum-Advisor Delay Namgyal Barfungpa noted that the Swachh Bharat Mission has visibly improved sanitation and awareness in urban areas and called for sustained community participation. He appealed to households to practise segregation of waste at source, asked for greater respect and support for sanitation workers, and emphasised educating students about the environmental impact of packaged food and plastic waste. He also underlined the practical need to clean drains before the monsoon to prevent blockages and flooding, and invoked the collective vision of “Sunaulo, Samridhha ani Samartha Sikkim”.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary Jitendra Singh Raje linked the drive to the national vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying cleanliness is central to development and that coordinated institutional action and public engagement are essential for sustainable sanitation. He added that partnering with Swachhata Ambassadors would strengthen outreach under the Swachhata Abhiyan, while acknowledging that increased citizen involvement is still needed to reach zero-waste goals.
Officials including joint secretary GL Meena and Mission Director Jigme Wangchuk Bhutia outlined the state’s current urban waste situation, citing landfill facilities at Martam and Shipchu, ongoing community outreach and legacy waste management efforts, and key challenges such as low segregation levels, plastic waste, and rising urban pressures. Ambassadors were instructed to promote source segregation, waste reduction and the 3R message — refuse, reduce and reuse — through local awareness activities and by setting an example in their communities.
Swachhata Ambassadors were felicitated at the event; those named included the Dirty Angels Motorcycle Club (Gangtok), marathon runner Phurba Tamang, fashion designer and social entrepreneur Sandeep Gurung, model Peden Ongmu Namgyal, actor Shyama Shree Sherpa, sustainability practitioner Sayta Pradhan, entrepreneur Sonam Tashi Gyaltsen (founder, La), and filmmaker Tribeny Rai. Present at the programme were principal chief architect-cum-secretary Yogeeta Rai, OSD Deo Kumari Pradhan, MEOs and other department officers, and the session concluded with a vote of thanks by Programme Coordinator Ajit Basnett.
Original Source: https://www.sikkimexpress.com/news-details/swachhata-ambassadors-onboarded-under-sbm-u-by-urban-development-department
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