Fishcofed Chairman Prakash Lonare is a relaxed man today as court cases relating to his election have been dismissed by Nagpur High Court. There were arbitration cases also against him which have been adjudicated in his favour.
Lonare now intends to focus on the growth of fisheries cooperatives. Enthused by the success of insurance scheme for fisherman as reported earlier, Mr Lonare told Indiancooperative.com that he intends to usher in an era of cold-storage for keeping fish fresh.
There are some technologies in Japan which do not use electric power and yet keeps the storage working, he told. We are in talk with some private players who are active in this field and wish to achieve success on the lines of insurance, he confided.
Having storage in all the major fisheries areas would revolutionize the fisheries cooperative as we can dictate our price and make most of it for our members, Lonare said.
Prakash Lonare is proud of the fact that he belong to Zero mile pillar in Nagpur which is held as centre of India and which was represented by famous J C Berbe. It was Mr Barbe who set up Nagpur district Fisheries Cooperative Federation after talking to late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mr Barbe was Member of Parliament.
Referring to internecine infighting in cooperatives in general Mr Lonare said too Indiancooperative.com that positive thinking is important for ushering in a culture of consensus and cooperation. He is planning to invite scholars for lectures to instill the true spirit of cooperation among cooperators.