Gangtok: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on April 13 announced a Rs 110 crore package of Central assistance for Sikkim for construction of an airport and an alternative highway connecting the state with the rest of the country.

Addressing a public meeting, he said the road sector in the country had been neglected in the last 50 years and efforts would be made to bring Gangtok on the East-West corridor linking Silchar to Gujarat.

Chiding the state government for not encouraging education of girl child, Vajpayee said attention should be paid to this aspect, as women's education was essential for development of the country.

He assured the state that the Centre would consider giving it a Central University and a college in each district as demanded by the Chief Minister.

To boost medical facilities in the state, Vajpayee said tele-medicine connectivity would be established between Thondup Namgyal Memorial Hospital in Gangtok and the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi.

"This link will continue till the Self Hospital Services and Construction Corporation submits its report on modernisation of Gangtok hospital," he added.

PTI