The cooperative movement is still going on in the State and the cooperative banks should take steps to ensure that farmers come to them and not to moneylenders for loans.
Foods and Consumer Welfare Minister Surjya Narayan Patro stated this at the 100th year function of the Brahmapur Central Cooperative Bank held here on Sunday.
“While some cooperative banks are working with profits, some others have remained weak. By now, farmers have been given `17,000 crore towards prices of procured paddy through 17 Central Cooperative Banks,” informed the Minister.
He informed that efforts are on to begin a pilot project to give Government job status to Cooperative Bank employees. Among others, MlAs Dr Ramesh Chandra Chyaupatnaik, Pradeep Panigrahi, Purna Chandra Sethi, Devaraj Mohanty, Srikant Sahu and K Surya Rao, State Cooperative Bank president Akshaya Kumar Mohanty, OSCARD Bank president Jogendra Swain, Gajapati Adivasi Unnayan Parishad Chairman Antaryami Gamang, BDA Chairman Subash Moharana and ZP president Subash Behera were present.
BCC Bank President Aleksh Choudhury presided over the meeting. Bank secretary Chitaranjan Panigrahi reading the report said the BCCB had deposits of `216 in the year 1916 when it came into being. Now, the banks’ deposits have reached `402-crore mark and `365 crore has been disbursed as loans.