MAPUSA
With the Bardez Bazaar Consumers Cooperative Society election slated for October 5, the ‘Sahakar Navajeevan’ panel has promised to bring in much-needed reforms and steer the organisation in a new direction.
The panel has pledged to revive the long-delayed cooperative mall, diversify business operations, and adopt professional management practices.
The panel has fielded ten candidates in the general category “ Vijay Bhike, Ravindra Fogueri, Sakharam Gaonkar, Sudhir Kandolkar, Pramod Karpe, Nikhilchandra Khalap, Eknath Nagvekar, Nitin Naik, Mahadev Natekar, and Narayan Ratwad.
In the women’s reserved category, Pratiksha Khalap and Nirmala Khalap will contest.
Polling will be held at the Registrar of Cooperative Societies office in Mapusa from 8 am to 5 pm.
Addressing the media, Nikhilchandra Khalap said the panel is contesting on the motto of “change.”
He noted that although Bardez Bazaar, founded by Ramakant Khalap and Ramkrishna Dangui, once grew steadily on values of trust and teamwork, stagnation has set in, with sales hovering around Rs 30“35 crore for years.
“We want to give new direction to Bardez Bazaar. Our slogan is ‘vote for change’ “ for honest administration, selfless service and visionary leadership,” Khalap said, stressing the need to appoint a managing director after two decades of instability.
The panel also promised to scale up operations through branded products, e-commerce, franchises, home deliveries and community membership schemes.
It pledged to revive the cooperative’s pharmacy and push forward the mall project, which has remained stalled despite land clearances and over Rs 1 crore spent on licenses.
Nagvekar alleged mismanagement by some existing committee members, while Fogueri highlighted poor staff salaries and the pending mall as key issues.
Bhike and Kandolkar appealed to shareholders to back the panel to “restore Bardez Bazaar to its rightful place as Goa’s leading cooperative enterprise.”
The elections are being held after 35 years, with the ‘Sahakar Navajeevan’ panel presenting a mix of seasoned leaders and fresh faces.
