Watch | PM Narendra Modi Scores Penalty, High-Fives Kids During Football Game in Gangtok

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared glimpses of himself playing football with youngsters in Gangtok, highlighting a lighter moment during his visit to the northeastern state.

Taking to social media platform X, the Prime Minister posted a video capturing the interaction and wrote, "Nothing like playing some football with my young friends in Sikkim on a lovely Gangtok morning!"

The visuals showed the Prime Minister engaging with children on a football ground, interacting warmly and participating in the game, drawing enthusiastic reactions from those present.

The post quickly gained traction online, with users praising the Prime Minister's outreach to the youth and his efforts to promote sports and fitness across the country.

The PM will also visit the Orchidarium in Gangtok. To showcase the ecological and floral heritage of the state, Swarnajayanti Maitri Manjari Park has been developed as a state-of-the-art, world-class Orchid Experience Centre.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister will participate in the closing ceremony of Sikkim's 50th Year of Statehood celebrations at Paljor Stadium, where he will inaugurate, launch and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over ₹4,000 crore across the State.

The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion.

These projects span a wide range of sectors including infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare, education, power, urban development, environment, tourism and agriculture, and are aimed at accelerating holistic and inclusive development in Sikkim.

What healthcare projects will Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurate in Sikkim?

In the healthcare sector, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for a 100-bedded Ayurveda Hospital at Yangang in Namchi district.

He will also inaugurate a 30-bedded Integrated Sowa Rigpa Hospital at NIT Deorali, thereby strengthening access to traditional and integrative systems of medicine in the State.

In the education sector, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Permanent campus of Sikkim University at Yangang, the Administrative Block of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University of Excellence at Chakung, the Helen Lepcha Medical College at Socheygang in Gangtok district, and the Dentam Professional College at Dentam in Gyalshing district.

He will also inaugurate model residential schools at Hee Gyathang, a new Model Degree College at Mangshila in Mangan district, and a monastic hostel-cum-classroom at Boomtar Gumpa in Namchi district.

Further, he will launch the implementation of IT-enabled educational infrastructure projects across 160 schools in Sikkim.

To improve connectivity further in Sikkim, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of two hinged double-lane steel arch bridges over River Teesta at Sirwani and Lower Samdong, connecting Namchi and Gangtok districts.

(With inputs from ANI)