The Thanjavur Consumers Cooperative Wholesale Stores (TCCWS), a cooperative institution that has impacted the daily life of all sections of society here for the past 75 years, is celebrating its platinum jubilee anniversary by firming up a five-year plan to shore up its finances.
Registered on April 20, 1940, it commenced its commercial operations on May, 1940 with 16 members with a share capital of Rs. 390.
Now, it has 2,634 members with a share capital of Rs. 41.14 lakh.
Under its control, there are 70 fair price shops in urban areas of the city through which the premier cooperative institution is channelising 1,137 tonnes of rice, 144 tonnes of sugar, 39 tonnes of wheat, 54 tonnes of toor dhal and 57,000 litres of palm oil every month to the attached 72,636 family cards.
Besides, there are six kerosene bunks in the city limits in its fold through which 29,444 family card holders were getting 75,870 litre of kerosene a month.
Serving as the lead society, the TCCWS has been facilitating supply of essential commodities to 2,00,315 family card holders attached to 467 fair price shops functioning under the aegis of 126 primary agricultural cooperative credit societies in Thanjavur, Orathanad, Pattukkottai, Peravurani and Tiruvaiyaru taluks, the TCCWS Managing Director M. Mohamed Rafi told The Hindu here.
The self-service section functioning in the main TCCWS complex has been doing a brisk sale of Rs. 15 lakh a month while the cooperative medical shop within the complex is extending 12 per cent discount for medicines and five per cent rebate for food items besides providing free door delivery facility to buyers on demand.
Medicines and food items sale touches Rs. 5 lakh a month.
The stationery section was recently refurbished to lure more customers and is doing a sales turnover of Rs. 2 lakh a month, Mr. Rafi said.
There are 119 employees against the sanctioned cadre strength of 133 and a democratically elected Board of Directors in administering the TCCWS.
Six more shops
One future plans, he says six new fair price shops were ready for opening in urban limits of the city while it was planning to carve out four new full-time fair price shops to serve specific area customers better.
Though the TCCWS has run up a cumulative loss of Rs. 6.24 crore up to the audited period of 2011-12, it has drafted an ambitious five-year plan to wipe off the deficit and turn the corner.
Already, during 2012-13, the TCCWS earned a profit of 8.15 lakh due to efficient functioning and Mr. Rafi hoped to build on that performance in the years to come.
