Sultanpur Lodhi/Ferozepur, November 13, 2019: With the successful culmination of all functions relating to 550th Parkash Purb celebrations, the public relations department of Punjab government successfully set a new benchmark of professionalism, hospitality and media management.
During my two-day stay at Sultanpur Lodhi for coverage of events relating to celebration of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, PR officers led by Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Director Anandita Mitra and Additional Director Senu Duggal went out of their way to make journalists feel welcome and comfortable.
Ajit Kanwal, Deputy Director, Press, appreciated the response of media, especially Babushahi, for the excellent coverage of the celebrations.
The PR team not only ensured timely press releases of the events but also positive stories from a journalistic point of view were circulated.
It was my first experience of visiting the media centre of such a big event and I preferred to stay in the Tent City to enjoy the hospitality of the PR Department though Sultanpur Lodhi happens to the home of my in-laws.
A core team led by senior officers having decades of experience in public relations ensured that all the required infrastructure with high-speed internet connections was made available at the media lounge – adjacent to the main pandal – so that scribes did not face any sort of problem filing their stories.
It was also a privilege to have a round of the holy city which was converted into a white city besides interaction with other journalists.
The in-charge of the team was local DPRO from Kapurthala Manvinder Singh, a young officer in his late 30s, who had been camping in Sultanpur Lodhi for the last one month, along with DPROs Parbdeep Singh (Ludhiana), Ravi Inder Makkar (SAS Nagar), Bhupinder Singh Brar (Muktsar) and Vikas Vohra (Ferozepur).
In the end, it was a joint effort of Public Relation Department and journalists, who worked day and night, shoulder to shoulder which helped news stories from the event reach people all around the globe.