The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Aid for tsunami-hit cooperatives

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 22, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Aid for tsunami-hit cooperatives

Special Correspondent

Funds will be routed through National Cooperative Union of India Cuddalore primary agricultural cooperative banks and Central Tribal Cooperative Society in Car Nicobar will get assistance

CHENNAI: Nine primary agricultural cooperative banks in Cuddalore district and the Central Tribal Cooperative Society in Car Nicobar that were affected by the tsunami have been chosen for international assistance for reconstruction.

A sum of Rs. 50 lakhs has been set apart, which will be split equally between Car Nicobar's cooperative society and the Cuddalore PCABs.

The funds will be routed through the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

"As an expression of international solidarity, Cooperatives UK [the central organisation for co-operative enterprises in the United Kingdom], has given the funds," Rajiv I.D. Mehta, director, ICA (Asia-Pacific), told The Hindu .

Steering committee

Mr. Mehta said, "We are planning to form a steering committee to be headed by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of Tamil Nadu, R. Kannan, for which we have sought the State Government's permission."

Earlier, he and Bhagwati Prasad, chief executive of NCUI, briefed State Cooperation Minister Pollachi V. Jayaraman and the secretary, S. Ramakrishnan, about the projects to be implemented in the State.

The steering committee would lay down the implementation strategies, while the details of execution would be monitored by two project committees.

The duration of the project would be 12 months. Mr. Mehta said the State Government was hopeful of completing the project in four to six months.

Mr. Prasad said the needs of the beneficiary cooperative societies would be studied again and if there were changes in the requirements, they would be addressed.

In addition to reconstructing the infrastructure, the project would seek to redefine the role of women in post-disaster management, he said.

Besides, NCUI proposed to support the reconstruction project of three or four cooperative societies also affected by the tsunami.

A sum of Rs. 10 lakhs would be given to cooperative societies from Cuddalore, he said.

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