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Jharkhand: Ship worth Rs 30 crores owned by Hemant Soren’s aide confiscated by ED in connection with illegal mining case

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Ship worth Rs 30 crores owned by Hemant Soren’s aide confiscated by ED in connection with illegal mining case

As part of its ongoing investigation into money laundering in connection with illegal mining and extortion in the state, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized a vessel worth Rs 30 crore that was being operated at the behest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s MLA Pankaj Mishra. The agency estimates that the M.V. Infralink-III vessel would cost 30 crores.

The inland ship was transporting illegally mined stone chips and boulders from the Sukargarh Ghat in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj at the instruction of Rajesh Yadav alias Dahu Yadav, in collusion with Pankaj Mishra and others.

An FIR (first information report) has been filed with Mufassil police station in Sahibganj in connection with the seizure of the ship under the Bengal Ferries Act, 1885, and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the vessel’s owner.

Two stone crushers that were being used illegally had already been seized by ED. Additionally, three trucks transporting boulders and stone chips that had been unlawfully mined without mining challans were seized by the agency. The unreported and concealed surplus illegally mined area is anticipated to be 37.5 million cubic feet. The ED estimates that the processing value of the chipped stone from mines is around Rs 45 crore.

The arrest of Pankaj Mishra

On July 19, Pankaj Mishra, a close adviser to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, was arrested in connection with the money laundering case involving purported illicit mining near Ranchi. Mishra was apprehended after many hours of interrogation by ED officials. He was sent for another 6 days of remand on July 26.

On July 8, the ED raided 18 properties in Jharkhand purportedly associated with Pankaj Mishra and the latter’s suspected business connections in Sahebganj, Berhait, Rajmahal, and Mirza Chauki.

The agency reportedly confiscated Rs 11.88 crore in cash from 37 bank accounts connected to Pankaj Mishra. During the search, the ED also discovered five unlawfully operational stone crushers and five illicit pistol cartridges.

Previously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that politicians and officials were participating in the illicit mining activity that has been going on in Jharkhand, and they gained profit by leveraging their power. The agency discovered a trail of more than Rs 100 crores linked to illicit mining in the state.

‘Special 26’ drama: Theft at the residence of Partha Chatterjee, neighbours mistake it as another midnight ED raid

OpIndia Staff
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‘Special 26’ drama: Theft at the residence of Partha Chatterjee, neighbours mistake it as another midnight ED raid

Days after the arrest of former Partha Chatterjee in connection with the SSC scam case, a case of theft was reported at the residence of the former TMC Minister on Wednesday (July 27) night.

The incident took place in Baripur town in the South Parganas district of West Bengal. Reportedly, the thieves broke into Chatterjee’s residence after removing the door lock.

Reminiscent of the scenes from the movie ‘Special 26’, the neighbours of the ex-TMC leader reportedly mistook the thieves as Enforcement Directorate officials who were conducting a midnight raid.

ABP Ananda reported that the residents of the area often referred to the building as ‘Bagan Bari of Partha Chatterjee (Garden/ Summer house of Partha Chatterjee).

Eyewitnesses recounted how the unidentified men took away items in large gunny bags from the residence of Partha Chatterjee. As per reports, the accused also left a gas cylinder in front of the gate of the bungalow.

ABP Ananda reported that the thieves tried to intimidate the neighbours. Neighbour Jamal Ali Mollah informed that he saw 3-4 men come to the building via a car at about 1:30 am in the night.

“I saw three to four men scaling the boundary wall. They abused me and asked me to return to my house,” he emphasised. According to the building’s caretaker Abu Taher Sardar, the owner of the property is Sohini Chatterjee, the daughter of Partha Chatterjee.

He informed that the residence also bore the name plate of Sohini, and that she stayed in the United States. While claiming no knowledge about the theft, he remarked, “Had I known, I would have informed the owner.”

He also alleged that the ex-TMC leader and his wife ad last visited their Baripur residence years ago. On learning about the matter, the police rushed to the crime scene and seized the gas cylinder.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty has alleged that the theft episode was staged to tamper with evidence. He claimed, “It could be a move by Trinamool leaders to remove incriminating documents before the ED reaches there. The government should find out the culprits.”

ABP Ananda reported that the Communist Party workers staged a protest outside the Baripur residence of Partha Chatterjee. The situation escalated when TMC workers too reached the spot, thereby leading to a scuffle.

The Case against Partha Chatterjee

A day after the Enforcement Directorate recovered ₹21 crores in cash, jewellery and foreign currency to the tune of ₹50 lakhs each, the central agency arrested the ex-TMC heavyweight leader on July 23.

On the same day, ED conducted a raid on the properties of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee as part of an investigation in this case. 

Two days later, a special court remanded Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minister Partha Chatterjee to Enforcement Directorate custody till August 3 this year.

He had reportedly helped 10 relatives of his bodyguard to secure jobs in different East Medinipur schools using ‘concocted and fabricated papers.’ Following allegations of corruption and impropriety, Partha Chatterjee was ousted from the Trinamool Congress.

Earlier, the TMC Minister was ‘greeted’ with ‘chor chor’ chants outside AIIMS Bhubneshwar. Videos had emerged wherein the crowd gathered outside the hospital could be heard shouting ‘chor chor’ slogans as Partha Chatterjee was being wheeled into the hospital.

Mounds of cash have been found at multiple residences of Arpita Mukherjee, a ‘close friend’ of Partha Chaterjee.

How The Hindu tortured data to claim ‘consumer sentiment weaker in Rural areas’: Here is an analysis of 5 graphs they misrepresented

S. Sudhir Kumar
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How The Hindu tortured data to claim ‘consumer sentiment weaker in Rural areas’: Here is an analysis of 5 graphs they misrepresented

“Data Point” is a regular feature in The Hindu’s newspaper. As the name suggests, this section deals with data on a particular topic almost every day. At first glance of one such “Data Point” published on July 27th, 2022, it looked like there is a gloomy scenario in the country today. 

Graphs used by The Hindu

The choice of the headline – “Consumer sentiment weaker in rural areas” tells us the situation is bad in rural areas. The colour Red also gets prominence, giving you the impression that the situation is not quite good. Until you read the details of each of the graphs. You are then left stunned by the innovative interpretation by Team Hindu to make things look gloomy when they are the exact opposite!

Let’s proceed to study 5 of these graphs. 

Graph#1:

Graphs used by The Hindu

70% of Urban and 55% of rural folks were able to “save substantially for their future needs“, last year. 70% of Urban and 55% rural – these numbers are simply phenomenal by any standards. For the past 2 years, we are simply bombarded with articles on how bad the handling of the economy has been. You look at the response to this graph and your mind immediately begins to wonder if these numbers would have been possible if the handling of the economy was bad.

Graph#2:

Graphs used by The Hindu

A whopping 94% Urban and 88% of Rural people have said that their “current financial situation these days is better or about the same” compared to last year. Can you even begin to imagine the scale of this response? You look at the response to this graph – nearly 90% of those surveyed say their situation is actually better or the same –  and your mind immediately begins to wonder if these numbers would have been possible if the handling of the economy was bad?

Graph#3:

Graphs used by The Hindu

A whopping 90% Urban and 85% Rural folks are confident that they “will be able to systematically save, more or about the same as last year“. Not only have nearly 70% saved substantially last year (as seen in Graph#1), but nearly 90% of folks are confident of either saving better or the same as last year. Would this confidence have stemmed if the handling of the economy were bad? 

Graph#4:

Graphs used by The Hindu

We move on to Graph#5 because of the vagueness in the question of Graph#4 (which you can still see in the full graphic). Yet again, we see some positively astonishing numbers. The “ability to meet regular monthly expenses as compared to a year ago” has either improved or remained about the same for a whopping 84% Urban and 81% Rural folks! Would this have been really possible if the handling of the economy was bad in the last 2 years? 

Graph#5:

Graphs used by The Hindu

A whopping 96% of Urban and 94% of Rural folks are very confident that their situation will either be better or remain about the same one year from now. Would this confidence have stemmed if the handling of the economy were bad? 

The scale of numbers across the various questions put forth very clearly gives out a very positive picture of the economy. It is a generally accepted colour code to use Red for bad data and yellow/orange for neutral data. The Hindu has surreptitiously chosen to use Red for neutral responses, coupled with a gloomy headline, to give an utterly false impression to the viewer/reader. Unfortunately for them, once the reader gets to the details, he/she can easily see through these machinations. 

Karnataka: Section 144 imposed after the murder of one Mohammed Fazil, reports indicate the motive being Sunni Fazil loving a Shia girl

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Section 144 imposed after the murder of one Mohammed Fazil, reports indicate the motive being Sunni Fazil loving a Shia girl

On Thursday, a 23-year-old youth named identified as Mohammed Fazil was killed by a group of assailants on Krishnapura-MRPL road, Mangaluru, Karnataka. The incident happened late in the evening on the outskirts of Mangaluru after which Sec 144 CrPC was imposed in Surathkal, Mulki, Bajpe, and Panambur areas. The deceased was a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal and owned a clothes shop.

According to the Police, Fazil was attacked with a lethal weapon by 4-5 unidentified miscreants. A report by Deccan Herald mentioned that preliminary investigations led by the Police revealed that the deceased was murdered because he was in love with a Shia woman whereas Mohammed Fazil practised Sunni Islam. The miscreants arrived in a car near the cloth shop owned by the deceased, killed him, and fled from the spot after the murder.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner, N Shashi Kumar, confirming the death said that the incident happened at around 8 pm on July 28. “There was an incident where a 23-year-old boy was brutally attacked by 4-5 people near Krishnapura Katipalla road, Surathkal. The boy was immediately shifted to a hospital and was declared dead”, he said.

He also added that the Police has filed the case based on a complaint of the eyewitness who was with the deceased during the incident. “A case of murder has been registered at the Surathkal Police Station. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the situation in important areas under Mangaluru city commissioner, we’ve imposed prohibitory orders u/s 144”, the Commissioner added.

Following the incident, the police appealed to the Muslim community to hold Friday prayers at home. Liquor shops have also been closed down on Friday and police are not permitting more than five persons in a group. “We have requested all Muslim leaders to perform their prayers at their homes, in the larger interest of the law and order of every locality”, Kumar said also requesting the citizens to not succumb to any rumours being spread by vested-interest groups.

To note, this is the second murder that has been reported in the state of Karnataka. Earlier, BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by assailants who were on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq have been arrested in Kerala. Reports mention that the two are linked to the Islamist terrorist organizations named SDPI and PFI.

While some of the reports claim that the murder of Mohammed Fazil was executed in retaliation for the murder of Nettaru, others have dismissed the claims and stated that it might be a result of a love affair.

The case has been registered under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Police are investigating the case to verify the motive behind the murder. The Police have also recovered the CCTV footage from the spot which has shocked the state. Further investigations are underway.

Jahangirpuri violence: Delhi court takes cognizance of charge sheet filed by Delhi Police, directs 37 accused to appear on August 6

OpIndia Staff
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Jahangirpuri violence: Delhi court takes cognizance of charge sheet filed by Delhi Police, directs 37 accused to appear on August 6

On Thursday, the Delhi Court took cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the Police in connection with the Jahangirpuri violence that was escalated by the Islamists during the Hanuman Jayanti processions earlier this year and issued summons to all the accused in the case. The Court has asked all the 37 accused to appear before the Court on August 6.

According to the reports, the summons was issued by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepika Singh who allowed the charge sheet in the Court. The Court said that the charge sheet contains enough evidence to believe that the Jahangirpuri violence was planned and that it was a sequel to the 2020 Delhi anti-CAA riots.

The Delhi Police on July 15 earlier had revealed the accused had incited the locals to pelt stones at the Hindus participating in the procession. The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police also filed a charge sheet in Rohini court in the case of violence that happened on April 16. The Police in the charge sheet mentioned that the three main accused in the case identified as Mohammed Ansar, Tabrez, and Sheikh Irshfil had made all the preparations to execute the violence.

They had collected the stones, and empty glass bottles and had placed them on the terraces of the nearby buildings. Stones and glass bottles were also placed at accused Irshfil’s terrace. The police while investigating the case recovered all of them and charged the persons involved with inciting the violence. The Police also revealed that the accused had planned the violence and had started preparations for it 6 days before the violence.

In the 2000 paged charge sheet, the Police further stated that it investigated the data of around 2300 phones and also went through 58 different clips to discover the links between the Jahangirpuri violence with the anti-CAA violence that had disrupted the peace and law and order in Delhi in the year 2019-20. Police confirmed that Jahangirpuri violence was the sequel of the 2019 riots.

So far the Police have charged 45 main conspirators and have arrested 37 in the case of violence in which eight police personnel and a civilian had sustained injuries. Mohammed Ansar, Tabrez, and Irshfil are the 3 main accused who have been arrested among 45. Around 8 of the accused including one of the prime accused Irshfil is on the run in the case. The Police said that they have launched a massive manhunt to nab all the accused on run and added that some of the accused are out on bail.

The Delhi Police July 15 also presented video evidence in court and said that it used a facial recognition system during the investigation to nab the 37 culprits. The charge sheet was filed under sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 323, 427, 436, 307, 120B IPC read with 27 Arms Act.

From Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kohle to Praveen Nettaru: How neighbours and acquaintances of Hindu victims plotted their murder

Dibakar Dutta
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From Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kohle to Praveen Nettaru: How neighbours and acquaintances of Hindu victims plotted their murder

Days after the gruesome murder of Praveen Nettaru in Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada district, it has now emerged that the father of one of the accused worked as a butcher at a chicken shop run by the BJP Yuva Morcha leader.

The Mangaluru police had earlier arrested two people, namely, Shafiq Ballere and Zaqir Savanuru, in connection to the case. Shafiq’s father Ibrahim worked as a butcher at the chicken shop of Praveen Nettaru.

The development was confirmed by India Today and Prajavani. While speaking about the matter, Ibrahim said, “I work at Praveen’s shop. My son and Praveen used to talk there. Praveen used to come to our house.”

Screengrab of the news report by Prajavani

He cried foul over the arrest of his son and claimed, “We have no idea why my son has been arrested. Just because we are Muslims, we are being targeted. Both Shafiq and Zakir aren’t like that.” Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death on July 26 this year.

The killers reportedly came on a bike in Bellari and attacked the BJP Yuva Morcha leader with sharp weapons. They also managed to flee the crime scene. The victim was returning home at the time of the attack. He was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved.

Why Umesh Kolhe and Kanhaiya Lal’s story should concern Hindus?

His only mistake was that he had uploaded a Facebook post, extending his heartfelt support to Kanhaiya Lal, who was in turn butchered by one Riyaz and Ghaus for supporting ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

The brutal killing of Praveen Nettaru happens to be the latest case where the perpetrator and his family were known to the victim. Last month, it came to light that the photograph and location of Kanhaiya Lal were leaked and made viral by his neighbour Nazim.

The accused had earlier filed a complaint against Kanhaiya Lal over a Facebook post supporting Nupur Sharma.  Nazim and his co-religionists also conducted recce of his shop. Kanhaiya Lal’s appeal for security fell on deaf ears and the Udaipur police did not take any action, ultimately leading to his killing.

The tragedy that befell upon the family of Umesh Kolhe was also facilitated by his close friend of 16 years named Yusuf Khan. Like Kanhaiya Lal, Kolhe was hacked to death for supporting Nupur Sharma.

While prioritising his Faith over friendship, Yusuf provoked Islamists to kill his friend. According to police, Yusuf Khan had forwarded Umesh Kolhe’s message supporting Nupur Sharma in WhatsApp groups, instigating Islamists against him by saying that he was supporting someone accused of blasphemy.

“Khan instigated the other accused,” the police had said. Yusuf and Umesh Kolhe knew each other through their occupational links. Khan was a veterinary doctor while Kolhe was a medical store owner.

Eventually, they had become good friends over the years. Khan had even attended the funeral of Umesh Kolhe after the murder. The involvement of a person well known to the victim points toward a disturbing trend in violence by Islamists.

Hindus, who are vocal about their rights, must be wary of extremists in their close circle. Any callous move, coupled with failure to identify potential threats early on, can prove deadly.

‘Illegal temple’ demolished in Navsari, here is how the government has failed to remove illegal religious structures including mazars from railway platforms

Gopal Tiwari
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‘Illegal temple’ demolished in Navsari, here is how the government has failed to remove illegal religious structures including mazars from railway platforms

On Monday, 25th July 2022, the Navsari Municipal Authorities razed a Radha Krishna temple despite opposition from the locals. The temple was ‘illegally built’ on an open plot of the Sarvoday residential society in Navsari city. Looking at the swift action by the administration against the ‘illegal temple’ in a closed society, it becomes evident to revisit how the government has struggled with the removal of other illegal religious structures built on the government’s own land including dargahs from the railway platforms.

The Radha Krishna temple on an open plot of the Sarvoday residential society was apparently obstructing the entry and exit to a huge plot owned by real-estate builders. According to reports, more than 150 police officers, including Navsari Urban Development Authority (NUDA) incharge officer Ketan Joshi and Navsari Municipality officials Rushikesh Upadhyay, arrived at the Sarvoday society Monday evening with JCB machines and dumpers in order to demolish the temple. Tensions soon ensued as more than 200 people including men, women, and youths entered the temple to stop the destruction. The Radha Krishna temple, which was recently constructed on a 10-square-meter plot of private land, was thus bulldozed as the police took away everyone in the temple and besieged the site.

Supporting this action by the local administration, the residential additional collector of Navsari said, “It was an illegal construction. Notice was given in advance & 10 days’ time was given & today it has been removed.” It should be noted that this temple, however illegally built, was erected on a private plot and it was used by Hindus for purely dharmik practices and not for any unlawful activity or spreading religious hatred, preaching superstitious belief, or exploitation of poor faithful people.

Navsari District Superintendent of Police, Rushikesh Upadhyay said, “The NUDA authorities had contacted us and asked for police protection to carry out the demolition activity of the temple constructed illegally on the open plot. The temple was demolished under police protection.” So it is evident how the authorities disrespected the religious sentiments of the people while demolishing the ‘illegally built’ temple.

Now the question arises, whether ‘illegal structures’ built in the name of other religious faiths – that too on government land – are removed with this promptness? The answer to this question manifests from Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s response to a question asked in Rajya Sabha on 30th July 2022. In this answer, it becomes clear how the government is struggling when it comes to removing the illegal religious structures built on the railway land and even on railway platforms in many cases. The minister’s answer underlines the sharp contrast in the approach by respective authorities while dealing with the ‘illegal religious’ structures of Hindus and those of other faiths.

On 30th July 2021, Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai asked the minister about the action taken against such encroachments by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and railway authorities. In his reply, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “There are 179 illegal religious structures existing on Railway platforms and yards across all Zonal Railways. These religious structures are in the form of Temples, Masjids, Dargahs, etc., and are existing for a long. The details of these religious structures have been recorded and monitoring is done regularly to ensure that no further expansion/extension of the structure takes place. Efforts to remove these illegal religious structures from all station platforms/ yards have been taken by the Railway Administration along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) with the assistance of the local Administration and Government Railway Police (GRP).”

He further said, “However, Railway Administration often has to face public agitation in the removal of these religious structures and, being a Law & Order issue, the encroachments are difficult to remove without the co-operation of the State Government which is found lacking in many cases. Further, Railway also makes efforts to amicably settle the issue by persuading the members of the religious structure committee to shift the location of their religious structures to other places outside of Railway areas. With strict vigilance and monitoring, further proliferation or mushrooming of these illegal religious structures has been prevented.”

Though it is worth appreciating that the government is trying to prevent any further mushrooming of such illegal religious structures in public places, it is alarming how the reasons for law and order are cited when it comes to explaining why these religious structures still exist there in the first place. The way in which a temple in Navsari is razed off ascertains the fact that Hindus are not causing this so-called law and order problem to the government authorities.

There have been dozens of reports of illegal mazars built on encroached land in forests, highways, educational institutions and even inside the premises of government buildings. however, the authorities seem to apply a different yardstick to determine whether they are allowed to stay, depending upon how much of ‘law and order’ problems the respective community can create.

Maldives: Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s brother arrested over homosexuality charges, Nasheed says it is to appease Islamic hardliners

OpIndia Staff
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Maldives: Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s brother arrested over homosexuality charges, Nasheed says it is to appease Islamic hardliners

The younger brother of former Maldives President and current speaker of parliament Mohamed Nasheed has been arrested over homosexuality charges. Nazim Sattar, whose homosexual sex tape had gone viral earlier this year, has been arrested by the current president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration.

Mohamed Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of Maldives in 2008. His brother Nazim Abdu Sattar is a lawyer, lecturing at Maldives National University and other colleges around the country.

Sharing the news of his brother’s arrest on Twitter, Mohamed Nasheed said, “President @ibusolih‘s administration has arrested my brother selectively accusing him of homosexuality.”

Nasheed also mentioned that the arrest is against criminal procedures in the country and has been done to appease hardliner extremists in the country who are part of the government. Islam is the state religion of Maldives and the Maldives law criminalises homosexuality and prescribes criminal penalties for same-sex sexual conduct and relationships.

Sex tape leaked of Nazim Sattar, brother of Mohamed Nasheed

Earlier this year, in June, a sex tape of Nazim Sattar was leaked on social media. In the video, Nazim, who is the younger brother of Nasheed, was seen engaging in various sexual activities with a younger man in a room. The video was shared with the local journalists by an anonymous account and it subsequently went viral.

Maldives law, which is based on Islamic Sharia law, prohibits any sort of homosexual activity, whether consensual or not. Clause 412 (b) of the Penal Code forbids homosexual conduct, while clause 42 (a) and (b) of the Sexual Offenses act criminalizes any homosexual act, irrespective of whether it was consensual or not.

Rise of Islamic hardliners in the Maldives

The Maldives, advertised as the perfect picturesque tourist destination, has been observing a rise in radical Islamism in recent times.

On June 21, Islamist extremists disrupted Yoga Day celebrations in the Maldives. Videos of the incident emerged on social media platforms where Islamists could be seen entering the Galolhu stadium where people were doing Yoga on eight International Yoga Day. They uprooted the flags in the stadium and used them to attack the participants of the celebrations.

Apart from disrupting the actual event, Islamists from the country could be seen on Twitter flagging the event as ‘anti-Muslim’. Agitated with ‘Muslims’ being invited to the event (where everyone irrespective of their religion was invited) Twitter users from the country said that Yoga is Shirk and that the event is being held to humiliate Islam.

Sahkar thi samruddhi: As PM Modi inaugurated new cooperative dairy plants, read the great success story in cooperative sector in Gujarat

Raju Das
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Sahkar thi samruddhi: As PM Modi inaugurated new cooperative dairy plants, read the great success story in cooperative sector in Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated multiple dairy projects of Sabar Dairy in Sabarkhanta in Gujarat. He inaugurated a milk powder manufacturing plant and an Aseptic Milk Packaging Plant of the milk cooperative society. The PM also laid the foundation stone of the Sabar Cheese and Whey Drying Plant Project.

The total investment in all these projects is over Rs 1000 crore. The 120 metric tonne per day milk powder plant has been set up at the cost of Rs 300 crore, while the 3 Lakh Litre per day packaging plant cost Rs 125 crore. And, the cheese and whey plant will cost Rs 600 crore.

The Prime Minister said that these dairy projects will empower local farmers and milk producers, and increase their income. The projects will also give a boost to the rural economy in the region, the PM said.

Sabar Dairy, or Sabarkantha District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, is a district-level cooperative society of milk producers registered under Gujarat State Cooperative Societies Act, 1964. The member farmers own Sabar Dairy, and their elected representatives manage the Village Societies and the District Union. The organisation employs professionals to operate the dairy and manage its business.

Sabar Dairy is a part of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which makes and markets a whole range of milk and milk products under the Amul brand. The investments of over Rs 1000 crore by the dairy union in three new projects underscore the success of milk cooperative unions in particular, and cooperative unions in general in the state of Gujarat.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) under the brand Amul, led by Verghese Kurien, had spearheaded the White Revolution in India. This revolution in dairy sector made India the largest producer of milk, which was earlier a milk-deficient country.

The milk cooperatives in the state had started with the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union set up in 1946, which was formed to supply milk directly to Mumbai, as the traders were arbitrarily setting milk prices at that time and were paying very less to the producers. After its success, such unions were replicated in several other states, all of which became member unions of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, the state-level organisation.

Today GCMMF has 18 district unions under it. All district unions are composed of village societies. The total number of such societies in the state is 18,600, and they collectively represent over 36.4 lakh milk producer. GCCMF collected an average of 246 lakh litres of milk every day in 2020-21, while it has a daily capacity of 390 lakh litres. The federation also runs cattle feed manufacturing plants.

The milk sourcing by GCMMF works on a highly decentralised model, as individual small milk producers supply their milk to the plants of GCMMF. The system works in a three-tier structure. The milk is collected at village-level cooperative societies and processed by district unions themselves. The district unions supply the liquid milk directly to the market, and the remaining milk is sent to state-level GCMMF, which process and market the milk and various dairy products that it manufactures.

All the 18 districts under this structure have dairy plants, 12 of them are under GCMMF and the rest 6 are under Gujarat Dairy Development Corporation (GDDC).

While the unions are owned by the producers, they are managed by qualified professionals. This model has proven so successful that it has made GCMMF the largest food processing company in the country. The GCMMF model has now been replicated in several other states to boost dairy production.

While the success of the co-operative model in the dairy sector in Gujarat is well known, actually this model has also been successful in several other sectors. One such sector is sugar, and Gujarat is considered to be one of the leading states in India in cooperative sugar factories. Just like the milk producer co-operative unions run dairy plants, sugar co-operative societies formed by sugarcane farmers run sugar mills in the state.

Gujarat State Federation of Co-op Sugar Factories ltd, the state-level body, has 22 member sugar factories in various districts. These mills work for their own members on a no-profit-no-loss basis. Gujarat is the only state in India where there are a large number of cooperative sugar factories.

Bardoli Sugar Factory was the first cooperative factory in Gujarat, and it had started that ‘white sweet’ revolution in the state. Bardoli Sugar Factory played an active role in setting up of other sugar cooperatives in different parts of the state by providing necessary assistance, information and guidance.

Another sector where the cooperative movement excelled in Gujarat is the banking sector. However, cooperative banks are now in a declining trend due to overall changes in the banking sector. Catering to local traders, the state has a large number of urban cooperative banks.

Reserve bank of India lists 211 Non-Scheduled Urban Co-operative Banks in Gujarat with registered offices in Ahmedabad. This number is more than 196 Urban Co-operative Banks registered in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country.

However, the cooperative banking sector has faced several challenges in recent past, like competition from private banks offering better services, the inability to keep up with recent banking technology, increase scrutiny by RBI etc. Several scams that hit multiple cooperative banks also didn’t help.

However, as a whole, the cooperative sector in Gujarat keeps flourishing. As per Gujarat govt data, major sectors with a significant presence of cooperative Societies include agricultural credit, non-agricultural credit, housing, dairy and livestock, irrigation, marketing societies. labour contract, industrial etc.

The Modi government has given a special emphasis on the development of the cooperative sector in the country, and the Cooperation Ministry was formed in the union government last year with that goal. Home minister Amit Shah currently is also the cooperation minister. The ministry’s motto is ‘Sahkar Thi Samruddhi’, which means prosperity with cooperation.

As per the press release by the government during its formation, the ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ was created for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ which essentially will focus on community-based developmental partnerships. The Ministry ‘will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country’ and ‘streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives.’

‘Will not hesitate to implement the Yogi model in Karnataka’: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai

OpIndia Staff
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‘Will not hesitate to implement the Yogi model in Karnataka’: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai

On Thursday, 28th July 2022, Karnataka’s chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he will not hesitate to implement the UP model of dealing with the anti-national and fundamentalist miscreants in Karnataka. Basavaraj Bommai made this statement while answering a question regarding the demands raised by Hindu organizations in Karnataka regarding the safety and security of the Hindus in the state after Praveen Nettaru – a member of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha – was killed by Islamists on 26th July 2022.

CM Basavaraj Bommai said, “Whatever possible we will do that. If need be, if the situation says ‘UP model’ or much stricter than that we will not hesitate for that also.”

Basavaraj Bommai’s government completed one year on Thursday. A program was organized to mark this occasion. On this occasion, a mega rally was scheduled to be held at Doddaballapur and BJP National President J P Nadda was scheduled to attend the same. But, Basavaraj Bommai canceled this program as a party worker Praveen Nettaru was murdered in the South Kannada district by Islamists.

Basavaraj Bommai said, “Yogi Adityanath is the right chief minister for the situation in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, there are different ways to deal with the situation in Karnataka and all of them are being used. If the situation demands, the UP model will also be implemented in Karnataka.”

The term UP model means the strong measures taken by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to control anti-national activities in Uttar Pradesh, including the use of bulldozers against miscreants and mafia. On 26th July 2022, BJYM member Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by Islamists. The killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.

The Karnataka Police on Thursday arrested two persons on suspicion of involvement in the BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Kumar Nettaru’s murder case. The accused have been identified as Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq. The duo was arrested from Kasargod, Kerala. According to the Police, one of the suspects is said to have ties with the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Zakir is 29 years old and is a resident of Savanoor whereas Mohammed Shafiq who is 27 years old belongs to Bellare. According to reports, Shafiq and Zakhir are the conspirators, but the assailants are still to be apprehended. The Police have detained a total of 21 persons in connection to the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Kumar Nettaru.

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