Shillong: The week-long celebration of the 67th All India Cooperative Week culminated today at Yojana Bhavan, Main Secretariat, Shillong. The celebration was organised by the Department of Cooperation, Government of Meghalaya, office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Meghalaya, Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd, Shillong in collaboration with the State Level Cooperative Federations. The theme of the celebration is Covid Pandemic Atmanirbhan Bharat – Cooperatives.
As part of the celebration, three Booklets documenting the successes and achievements of Cooperative Societies in the State were also released.
K N Kumar, Chairman, Meghalaya Farmers Empowerment Commission in his address as the Chief Guest said that Cooperation as a sector is important in traditional societies adding that Meghalaya being a cohesive community can work together and develop a strong bond for cooperative spirit. He emphasized the role of cooperatives in the development of the country, especially the rural sector. “Cooperatives empower people & build communities for better tomorrow”, he said. Shri. Kumar stressed on the two important Missions being implemented in the State, the Milk Mission and Piggery Mission where he emphasize that these missions can transform the lives and economic condition of the farmers and can boost the GDP of the State significantly. He also pointed out to various field of activities involving co-operative sectors in the State such as tourism, fisheries, handloom and handicraft manufacturing etc, and said that these activities can spin the wheel of development in the State and can become a major source of employment generation for people of all ages.
Shri. G H P Raju, Principal Secretary Cooperation in his welcome speech, said that the plan of the celebration is to highlight the successes and achievements of the cooperative movement and also chalk out the future strategies for strengthening the cooperative movement in the state and country. He said that for Cooperative Societies to succeed, one has to have motivation and willingness to strategise and strengthen the movement.
The programme ended with the vote of thank proposed by Dr. D Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Cooperation.
