Days after resigning, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to undertake visit to border areas

Chandigarh: Days after he resigned from his post, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit will undertake a tour of six border districts from February 20 to 23, which will be his sixth visit in the past two-and-half years.

Purohit had on February 3 tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu from the posts of Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator, citing personal reasons.

However, his resignation is yet to be accepted.

As per his four-day visit, Purohit will traverse through the border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka.

According to an official release, Purohit will hold meetings with the central agencies and the state government officials to review the progress made since his previous visits and to address any new issue that cropped up during the recent times.

"A key focus of these meetings will be on enhancing coordination between the central and state agencies to overcome bottlenecks, particularly in the realms of border infrastructure, security, smuggling and combating the menace of drug trafficking in the border areas," it added.

The governor's agenda also includes interactions with village defence committees (VDCs), which have proven instrumental in combating drugs and other social evils in the border regions, the release said.

These engagements aim to collect ground-level insights and feedback from various public representatives and the press, enabling issues pertinent to the border areas to be addressed effectively at both the central and state government levels.

The chief secretary of Punjab, the Director General of Police and senior officials of the Border Security Force (BSF), Army, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) as well as respective deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of police from each district will be present during his border visit.