Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated BSF's floating border outposts (BOPs) at West Bengal's Hingalganj in Sunderbans area of North 24 Parganas district and flagged off a boat ambulance, as he arrived on a two-day visit to West Bengal, his first since the 2021 assembly polls. 

Shah also interacted with senior Border Security Force officials during the occasion.

The number of floating border outposts has been increased with a view to boost surveillance in the inaccessible areas of the Sunderbans, officials said.

Addressing the event, the union home minister said, "Modi government's basic goal is to make the country's internal and external security impenetrable. We are working to provide our soldiers with the world's most advanced technology for border security. Today Sutlej, Kaveri and Narmada floating BOP has been dedicated to the nation."

"Equipped with all modern facilities and safety equipment, the front part of these BOPs is made bulletproof for the safety of our jawans. The Modi government is determined that our soldiers posted in the border area face the least difficulty. We will leave no stone unturned to make the lives of soldiers' families better," added Shah.

The boat ambulance is aimed at providing medical assistance in the isolated regions of the Sunderbans from Saheb Khali to Shamsher Nagar, officials said.

Later in the afternoon, Shah laid the foundation stone of 'Maitri Sangrahalaya' at Haridaspur - a museum to raise public awareness about the bravery of BSF during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

Amit Shah arrived at the Kolkata airport in the morning, where he was received by senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar.

"Arrived in Kolkata on a two-day visit to West Bengal, I look forward to attending various events and interacting with the brothers and sisters of Bengal," the Home Minister tweeted in Bengali.

Image courtesy: ANI