Steps will be taken to strengthen cooperative sector: Minister

Steps will be taken to strengthen and bring in reforms in the cooperative sector, which will benefit the farmers, said Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the centenary building of the District Cooperative Central Bank in Madikeri.

There are plans to disburse loans to 30 lakh farmers through cooperative societies. All the 280 cooperative banks are functioning effectively, he added.

MLA M P Appachu Ranjan said that it is not wrong to state that the cooperative sector is the stepping stone to enter into politics.

The DCC bank in the district has entered every household, he added.

MLA K G Bopaiah released a souvenir ‘Sahakara Siri’ and said that the cooperative sector has created a niche in the district. The cooperative banks help in disbursing loans to the farmers.

The DCC Bank in Kodagu is fetching profit. Autonomous power should be entrusted to cooperative societies, he said.

Former minister M C Nanaiah has played a pivotal role in the growth of the DCC Bank in the district, he added.

Speaking after accepting the felicitation, M C Nanaiah said that the second cooperative society in the state was started in Shanthalli way back in 1906.

Cooperative societies should not be brought under any control. There should not be any interference in the cooperative sector. It is a tragedy that a few vested interests are trying to control the cooperatives, he added.

In his introductory remarks, DCC Bank president Kodandera P Ganapathy said that DCC Bank has 21 branches in the district.

The bank has its own buildings at 11 places. The bank has extended help to the farmers during natural calamities, he added.

State Western Ghats Task Force chairman Shantheyanda Ravi Kushalappa lauded the government for announcing scholarships for the children of farmers.

A documentary on the history of DCC Bank was screened on the occasion.