BARGARH: Cash shortage in cooperative banks has hit the farmers hard. Cooperative banks are important for farmers and lower income groups in rural areas, who avail smaller loans and get it quickly. Post-demonetisation, these institutions are gasping for breath, directly affecting the farmers.
With the procurement season in progress and sale proceeds credited directly to a farmer’s account, it is the farming sector which has been the worst hit post-demonetisation. Such has been the panic among farmers, who have already sold their paddy, that they are lining up their passbooks in front of Sambalpur District Central Cooperative Bank (SDCCB) before the break of dawn to get their amount credited.
After managing to disburse `50 lakh to its branches over the last couple of days, the SDCCB finally mobilised `2.5 crore to give to its branches to transact business. But, this is inadequate to meet the demands of the long list of farmers. While `4,000 each was disbursed among farmers in rainfed areas like Sohela, the limit was `10,000 in command areas of Bheden and Attabira.
Sources said the State Government has already procured 28.99 lakh quintals of paddy from 55,421 farmers in the district while another 30.4 lakh quintals are waiting to be procured in market yards of Regulated Market Committees (RMCs). About `300 crore has been credited to the accounts of 37,607 farmers, reflecting the huge amount of payment to be made by SDCCB.
Sources in SDCCB said they need `8 crore every day to facilitate smooth transaction.