The Hindu : Karnataka News : Cooperative movement centenary in May

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Cooperative movement centenary in May

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, APRIL 11. The centenary celebrations of the cooperative movement in the State will be inaugurated on May 8 at Kanagina Hal village in Gadag taluk, where the first cooperative society was set up in May 1905.

Addressing a press conference here today, the Karnataka State Cooperative Federation Chairman, G.T. Deve Gowda, said a booklet giving details of important personalities who had contributed to the cooperative movement in the State will be brought out on the occasion. People, who have made outstanding contribution to the cooperative field will be honoured.

The centenary year of the cooperative movement will be celebrated in different parts of the State by the thousands of cooperative societies.

First society

Mr. Gowda said the first cooperative society was set up in Gadag taluk by Siddanagouda Ramanagouda Patil in May 1905.

Today, there are 38,000 cooperative societies in the State with more than two crore members.

The societies, which have a working capital of Rs. 23,000 crores, have generated employment for more than two lakh people.

Cooperative banks in the State have extended agricultural loans amounting to Rs. 1,500 crores, he added.

Mr. Gowda welcomed the State Government's decision to write off Rs. 450 crores interest on agricultural loans taken from various cooperative banks in the State.

Revival

Mr. Gowda said that to mark the centenary year of the cooperative movement, a programme will be chalked out by the federation to revive sick cooperative societies.

Out of the 38,000 cooperative societies, 10 per cent have closed down for various reasons, he said.

Though Rs. 100 crores has been misappropriated from various cooperative societies, the amount is negligible when compared to the total transactions of the societies, he said.

Of the 38,000 cooperative societies, 9,000 are milk producers' cooperative societies, which supply an estimated 25 lakh litres of milk every day.

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