The New Nation - Internet Edition

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Ten individuals and 10 organizations were given this year's 'Jatiya Samabaya Purashkar' on Sunday for their outstanding contributions to the promotion of the cooperatives.

Adviser for LGRD and Cooperatives M Anwarul Iqbal handed over the national cooperatives awards to the recipients at a function at Osmani Memorial auditorium in the city.

Secretary of the department of rural development and cooperatives ATM Fazlul Karim was in the chair while registrar of the department of the cooperatives M Masud Elahi addressed ,among others, on the occasion.

Anwarul Iqbal said a large portion of the population has improved their lots through cooperatives. They have achieved self-reliance though depositing small savings and investing the funds in productive activities, he said.

The country has now around 1.60 lakh cooperatives in 10 categories involving around 83 lakh members. From each category every year a best individual cooperative and a best organization are given the award which includes a gold medal and a citation. The categories are: agriculture, savings and credit, milk, women, multipurpose, fisheries, freedom fighter, poor and land less, youth and special class and housing and market based cooperatives.

The individual award recipients are M Zahirul Haque of Gaibandha, Sentu B Gomez of Gazipur, M Belayet Hossain of Pabna, Begum Rahima Chowdhury of Thakurgaon, Syed Hamim Jaman of Jamalpur, Goranga C Barman of Netrakona, Alhaj Syed Abbas Hossain of Mirpur, Dhaka, Khodeza Begum of Chowgacha, Jessore, Jasim Uddin Sheikh of Chandpur, and Gazi Saiful Rahman of Bangladesh Bank colony, Motijeel, Dhaka.

The organizations received the awards are Nabaganga Canal and Water Management Cooperative Society Ltd of Chuadanga, Rupali Credit Cooperative, Chittagong, Bhennabari Primary Milk Producing Cooperative Society, Gopalganj, Banarupa Women Cooperative Ltd, Rangamati, Rural Cooperative Multi-purpose Society Ltd, Comilla, Parulia Fisheries Cooperative Society, Satkhira, Biral thana Freedom Fighters Poultry and Livestock Cooperative Society Ltd, Dinajpur, North Sonapur Poor Women Cooperative Society Ltd, Noakhali, Ideal Cooperative Society Ltd, Dhaka and Jashore Market Small Traders' Cooperative Society Ltd, Narsingdi.