Public Participation Essential for Developmental Projects: Union Minister

KOTTAYAM:
The days of government directly carrying out all developmental projects are over with an increasing public participation in the new age, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said today.

“Society at large is implementing a lot of developmental activities,” he said, after inaugurating a Grameen Samrudhi Store Supermarket of the Ettumanoor Social Service Society (ESSS) in association with the Bharath Agro Processing and Marketing Cooperative (Bamco). The unit at Ettumanoor, 10 km north of this city, is Bamco’s the 36th Samrudhi store in Kerala.

“The role of cooperative movements in the empowerment of women is invaluable,” the Minister noted, over video conferencing. “Many of the women who won the recent civic elections in Kerala are those who rose through their involvement in cooperative movements.”

Ettumanoor MLA Suresh Kurup, inaugurating the showroom, hailed the system where the privileged members are eligible to receive the dividend from running the Samrudhi store. “Not only does Samrudhi enjoy public confidence, the supermarket is set to work for the betterment of the people,” he said.

The 9,000-sqft Samrudhi store, on the Ettumanoor-Peroor Junction, sells groceries, vegetables, milk, stationeries and crockery items at affordable prices.

Installing a special app on mobile phone facilitates home delivery of the items. The app and a website on the store were inaugurated today by Ettumanoor Municipal Corporation Chairpersons Lovely George.

Vazhoor Theerthapada Ashramam president Swami Prajnanananda Theerthapadar, and Grameen Samrudhi Charitable Society president P K Madhusoodan lit a lamp on the occasion.

ESSS Secretary M S Vinod said the Ettumanoor unit of Samrudhi launched a novel scheme by paying dividend to privileged members. Besides home-delivery facility, the store, as a policy, encourages local farmers and procurers, he added.

ESSS President Dr K V Sathyadev presided over the function. The others present were Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (Ettumanoor) president M P Thomas, ward councillor Rashmi Shyam, VyapariKshema Nidhi Board Vice Chairman E S Biju, Hindu Economic Forum (HEF) General Secretary S Padmabhushan, Bamco Vice-President P R Muralidhar, HEF Kerala Joint Secretary Sunil Kumar, Ettumanoor Athirampuzha Jama-ath General Secretary Akbar, HEF (Kottayam District Forum) president P J Harikumar, Ettumanoor former Municipal Chairperson James Plakkithottil and HEF Ettumanoor president K U Shyam Krishnan.

ESSS treasurer P K Jayakumar proposed thanks.