Significantly, Sharma has wrought this transformation without any financial help from the state Government, which has been seeking financial assistance from the Centre to revive the state’s cooperative institutions and agriculture banks. In fact, on April 7, the state Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for a Rs 220 crore package to revitalise its cooperative credit institutions.

“Financial help, keeping in view its performance, will also be provided to Super Bazar, Jammu,” said Abdul Aziz Zargar, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, adding that he had been told Sharma was doing well and that the Bazar had shown profit as well.

“During the past six months, we have done a business of nearly Rs 200 lakh, which comes to Rs 30-35 lakh a month, and it’s rising every day,” says Sharma. “Though the employees are yet to get their arrears, we hope to clear them soon if the business continues to show an upward trend,” he adds.

G.M. Qasba, Registrar, Cooperatives, who recently visited Super Bazar, recalls that “it appeared some activity had been going on there”, though it would take an annual audit to know the true picture.

Sharma is stoically not focussing on people’s reactions, but on work, finding solutions where none seemed to exist. So instead of pressing for pruning the surplus staff, he just decided to make everybody work. He convened a meeting of the 90-odd staffers and convinced them that they could get regular salaries only if the institution made profit. The staff assured him their cooperation.

... contd.