Chhattisgarh gears up for statewide cooperative week celebrations

Chhattisgarh is set to launch a series of statewide programmes during Cooperative Week from June 29 to July 6, aimed at strengthening the cooperative movement and promoting rural development, self-reliance and economic prosperity across the state.
According to agency reports,the celebrations will mark five years of the Union Ministry of Cooperation and will feature events including a State-Level Cooperative Chintan Camp, Sahakar Mela, International Cooperative Day celebrations and cooperative seminars. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai will attend the main event in Raipur as the chief guest, while Cooperation Minister Kedar Kashyap will preside over the programme.As part of the week-long campaign, all 2,573 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), along with dairy, fisheries, weavers' and other cooperative societies, will organise activities across the state. These will include cooperative flag hoisting ceremonies, membership drives, distribution of Micro ATMs, Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) and RuPay KCC cards, plantation drives, soil testing initiatives, farmers’ seminars and discussions on the role of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and PACS in rural development.
A key highlight of the programme will be on July 6, when the Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation is scheduled to lay the foundation stones for warehouses in nine PACS under the world's largest decentralised grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector.The State-Level Cooperative Chintan Camp, Sahakar Mela, International Cooperative Day celebration and Cooperative Seminar will be held on July 3 and 4 at the Krishi Mandapam Auditorium of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya in Raipur.
The event is expected to draw participation from cooperative societies involved in agriculture, dairy, fisheries, minor forest produce and weaving, along with representatives from major national institutions such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Common Services Centres (CSC), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), KRIBHCO and the State Cooperative Union.The Sahakar Mela will showcase achievements, innovations and successful models from the cooperative sector. Special outreach programmes will also be conducted to connect farmers, women’s groups, dairy producers, fish farmers, weavers and rural entrepreneurs with various cooperative initiatives and government schemes.
Ahead of the celebrations, Kedar Kashyap chaired a review meeting to assess preparations and directed all concerned institutions and committees to ensure broad participation and effective implementation of the programme. Participants at the meeting resolved to further strengthen the cooperative movement and make Cooperative Week a mass outreach initiative across the state.Officials from the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Bank (Apex Bank), Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation (MARKFED), district cooperative banks and other cooperative institutions attended the review meeting.