Chandigarh, Jul 30 (PTI) People of Punjab should work hard to make it prosperous and play a pivotal role in making India a "Vishwa Guru" (world leader), outgoing governor Banwarilal Purohit said on Tuesday.

He was delivering a valedictory speech here at Punjab Raj Bhavan.

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The people of Punjab should collectively come forward in the fight against drugs, Purohit said.

The need of the hour is to eradicate the sin of drugs from the state to save the coming generations, he asserted.

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Purohit further said the people of Punjab are "large-hearted" and they will strongly overcome the problem of drug addiction.

"Punjab is a land of opportunities and there is a lot of scope for betterment in various sectors," added Purohit.

He thanked the Punjab government and the Chandigarh administration for their support during his three-year tenure as the state governor and the Chandigarh administrator.

He further said that during the Niti Aayog meeting, he proposed various development projects for the union territory, including allotment of one medical college

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was not present on this occasion as he was away in Delhi to participate in the INDIA bloc rally.

Assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan, cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, Additional Chief Secretary to Governor K Siva Prasad, Advisor to the administrator Rajiv Verma and other senior officers of Punjab UT Chandigarh were present in the event.

Purohit has been replaced by Gulab Chand Kataria who will take oath on Wednesday.

President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Purohit as the governor of Punjab and the administrator of Chandigarh after he tendered his resignation in February this year.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)