CM inaugurates Sahakarita Mela at Rangers’ Ground
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 23 Dec: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the ‘Sahakarita Mela 2025’ at the Rangers’ Ground here today. The event marks the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 and the Silver Jubilee of Uttarakhand’s statehood.
Addressing the gathering on this occasion, Dhami described the cooperative fair as not just an exhibition of products but a powerful symbol of Uttarakhand’s cooperative strength, rural self-reliance, and self-respect. He observed that cooperation forms a fundamental value of the Indian way of life, where individuals rise above self-interest to work for the collective good of society.
Dhami also noted that the role of cooperatives has become even more vital in today’s competitive era, prompting the United Nations to declare 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. He credited Narendra Modi for the historic decision to establish a separate Ministry of Cooperation to realise the vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation), an initiative being robustly advanced under the leadership of Amit Shah.
Dhami asserted that Uttarakhand has emerged as a leading state in cooperative reforms across the country. He reminded that the computerisation of multipurpose cooperative societies in India began in Uttarakhand, and today all 670 cooperative societies in the state stand fully digitalised. He contrasted the current system with the past, observing that the farmers previously had to frequent the government offices, whereas they can now access all services via mobile phones, a shift he described as the difference between the “paper model” of the Congress and the ‘ground-level model’ of the BJP.
Dhami further explained that cooperative societies are no longer limited to providing loans. They now function as Jan Aushadhi Kendras offering affordable medicines and as Common Service Centres (CSCs) providing insurance, pensions, electricity bill payments, Aadhaar, and other digital services. He noted that institutions once considered a burden have transformed into service hubs for the public. To ensure transparency, the data of these cooperative societies has been uploaded to the National Cooperative Database.
The CM reminded that under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Sahakarita Kisan Kalyan Yojana, farmers, women’s self-help groups and cooperative institutions receive interest-free loans to achieve self-reliance. Dhami cited the thousands of crores of rupees deposited in cooperative banks as evidence of the public’s growing trust. Emphasising women’s empowerment, he stated that women’s cooperative societies and self-help groups receive special priority, enabling lakhs of women to become self-reliant under the ‘Lakhpati Didis’ initiative. He claimed that while the Congress merely offered slogans to the women, the BJP government has delivered genuine opportunities.
Dhami reiterated the state government’s commitment to protecting Uttarakhand’s identity and culture alongside development. He mentioned strict actions against illegal encroachments, “Land Jihad”, and unauthorised structures. He cited the crackdown on illegal madrasas, Operation Kalnemi, and the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code as outcomes of this strong political will. On corruption, Dhami claimed that the government has a zero-tolerance policy, stating that no offender, regardless of rank, would be spared.
During the event, Dhami released the ‘State Focus Paper 2026-27, Uttarakhand’ published by NABARD and distributed interest-free loan cheques worth Rs 5 lakhs each to various cooperative groups. Dhami also expressed confidence that this cooperative fair would evolve into a mass movement towards a self-reliant India and a self-reliant Uttarakhand, further strengthening the government’s ‘resolution without alternative’ to position the state as a leader in the country.
Among those present on the occasion were Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, Cabinet Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, MLAs Khajan Das and Savita Kapoor and senior officials of the Cooperative Department.
