The 68th All India Cooperative Week celebration was today inaugurated in Shillong on the theme, ‘Prosperity through Cooperation.’
The week-long celebrations which aim at providing an opportunity for cooperatives to highlight their success stories, project their achievements and chalk a future action plan which can provide a direction to the growth of the cooperative movement is being observed through a series of programmes including workshops, seminars, contests and other events.
East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, Isawanda Laloo inaugurated the celebrations at a function held at the Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd, Shillong.
Speaking at the function, Laloo acknowledged the valuable contribution of health cooperatives in different parts of the country in tackling various challenges of the Covid -19 pandemic.
Reiterating the need to review the performance and progress of the cooperative movement in the local context before widening the scope of talking about the importance of cooperatives in various aspects of our lives and society, she stressed on the need to engage all stakeholders so that they can come together to further the cause of the movement in the State.
She lauded local cooperative societies for their commendable performance over the years and said that such societies need to be given a platform to serve as an example and encouragement for others, adding, there is an endless array of activities that through the institution of the cooperative society can help elevate people from poverty.
Laloo pointed out the important role that the officers of the Cooperative Department can play by creating awareness on the avenues available through government schemes such as Piggery Mission, Milk Mission, Integrated Village Cooperative Societies etc.
The objective of the Cooperative Movement in the State should be to empower cooperatives so that they can think in a new direction, she added.
