No word on his resignation, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to tour state’s border areas

The latest visit will be Purohit’s sixth trip to the border regions in 2.5 years. As part of it, the Governor will visit the border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka. His itinerary includes meetings with central agencies and state government officials to review the progress made since his previous trips and to address any new issue that may have cropped up recently.

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

The Governor’s visit to border areas has been a bone of contention between him and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab. In the past too the Governor had embarrassed the government during his visits when he broached issues of law and order, drugs and illegal sand mining.

The Governor’s agenda also includes interactions with Village Defence Committees (VDCs) which have been instrumental in combatting drugs and other social evils in the border regions. These engagements aim to glean 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.

Senior officers, including the Chief Secretary of Punjab, the Director General of Police, heads 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, are expected to participate in the visit.