Whither Assam Cooperative Apex Bank?

A time was there when Assam Cooperative Apex Bank remained vibrant with activities fraught with crowded account holders. But subsequently we noticed that such vibrant activities dwindled with diminishing assemblage. This contention of mine is confirmed when I visited the Dibrugarh branch of Apex Bank on January 6 last and found that the bank branch was run by only four members of staff and two sub-staff. The branch does not have a branch manager. The Dibrugarh branch, incidentally is one of the oldest branches of Assam. What ails the Bank? This feeling of mine is confirmed by a statement by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that Assam Cooperative Apex Bank is fast going to be insolvent. From the statement of Tarun Gogoi, it transpires that the bank is run by the whims and caprice of its Managing Director. The chairman of the bank Himanta Biswa Sarma is holding the portfolio only for name sake. The former Chief Minister alleges that instead of sanctioning loans to the state farmers, the bank spends its funds in other states. In our opinion, the functioning of the bank is in a mess, courtesy, the Managing Director and the Chairman.

Ashok Bordoloi

Dibrugarh