MARGAO
Beleaguered depositors of Visionaries Urban Cooperative Society held a massive dharna outside the Margao office of the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies to protest over the inaction by the officials against the society and facilitate the return of their hard-earned money.
The Goa police mobilised a huge force at the Gomant Vidya Niketan as a number of agitated protestors laid down in front of the GVN, blocking the office entrance. They later took out a morcha around the Margao Municipal Council garden shouting slogans for the early return of their money. Some of the depositors were spotted outside the Office of Assistant Registrar till evening.
As the agitating depositors shouted slogans over the inaction by the office of Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies and the administration since their last visit on September 18, the Goa police mobilized a huge force led by DySP Sahil Sarangal, Margao PI Sachin Narvekar and lady police constables.
The DySP sought to intervene in the matter by asking the agitators to send their representatives for discussions with the Assistant Registrar Pundalik Parab. The protestors, however, shot down the proposal, demanding that Parab face them in full public, saying the office has a lot to explain to the depositors.
Registrar Parab told the depositors that while the audit of the Loutolim branch is complete, the audit of the remaining three branches is underway. Parab, however, told the police and the protestors that his office is helpless if the audit report is not submitted to him by the persons drafted for the job.
Maria Wanda Gomes and other protestors, however, demanded to know whether the Assistant Registrar and the police expect the beleaguered depositors to starve at home as they have no access to their hard-earned money.
Wanda told the police that it’s now 10 months since they have been on the streets, fighting to get back their money from the society.
“When we had come here last time around, the authorities had assured that memorandum will be handed over to the Collector, but the copy is yet to reach his office. We don’t think that we will ever get our money back looking at the way things are moving,” she lamented. Minister for Cooperation Govind Gaude has not kept his word, she added.
DySP Sarangal told the depositors that the police have already registered an FIR in the case and pointed out that
since the issue is of huge magnitude, it has been forwarded to the Economic Offences Cell for further investigation.
