Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-08-09T18:05:02Z

Created a new article

New page

{{Short description|Co-operative Society of British Bengal established for the development of Cannabis}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ganja Society
| logo =
| type = [[Co-operative]]
| founder = [[British Raj]]
| area_served = [[Bengal]] {{small|(now [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]])}}
| key_people = Milton Chandra Roy {{small|(president of ad-hoc committee)}}
| industry = [[Agriculture]]
| products = [[Cannabis]]
| revenue =
| net_income =
| assets = {{estimation}} {{BDT|100 crores}}
| num_employees =
| foundation = {{Start date|1917}}
| location = [[Noagaon]], Bangladesh
| num_locations =
| homepage =
}}
'''Naogaon Ganja Cultivators' Co-operative Society Limited''' ({{lang-bn|নওগাঁ গাঁজা চাষি সমবায় সমিতি লিমিটেড}}) or commonly '''Ganja Society''' ({{lang-bn|গাঁজা সোসাইটি}}) is a [[co-operative society]] that was established by the [[British Raj]] in 1917. This cooperative society was established for the development of cannabis cultivation and the well-being of growers in Naogaon, British-ruled [[Bengal]].

==History==
According to legend, seeds of [[cannabis]] were brought to [[Naogaon District]] for cultivation from [[Jessore District]] before 1857 and were first planted.<ref name=tbs/> However, according to history, after the establishment of a cannabis hub in Naogaon, [[Bengal Presidency]] in 1906, the government of the [[British Raj]] started the first commercial cultivation of cannabis in the region [[Bengal]]. The government then appointed a registrar to collect revenue from the hub.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.anandabazar.com/rabibashoriyo/history-of-ganja-1.1242464|title=প্রেমতক্তির পরানকথা|lang=bn|first=Agni|last=Roy|date=13 December 2020|access-date=2 August 2023|newspaper=[[Anandabazar Patrika]]}}</ref> In 1917, a cooperative society named the Ganja Society was established for the welfare of the 7,000 cannabis growers of Naogaon. The shares of the co-operative society were then sold to the farmers at the rate of ten rupees each, whereby the farmers became its partners. A warehouse was built there to store the produced cannabis. It was inaugurated in 1921 by [[Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury]], one of the provincial ministers of Bengal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.risingbd.com/travel/news/288138|title=গাঁজা মহলে একদিন|lang=bn|first=Siyam Sarwar|last=Jamil|date=3 February 2019|access-date=2 August 2023|website=Risingbd.com}}</ref> In 1974, the government of Bangladesh signed the [[Geneva Conventions]], which forced the government to withdraw from cannabis production.<ref name=tbs/> In 1975, the Ganja Society set up a 1,000 metric ton capacity cold storage facility with three chambers.<ref name=jago>{{cite web|url=https://www.jagonews24.com/country/news/777250|title=বন্ধের পথে নওগাঁ গাঁজা সোসাইটির হিমাগার|lang=bn|first=Abbas|last=Ali|date=13 July 2022|access-date=2 August 2023|website=[[Jago News 24]]}}</ref> According to the agreement, the activities of the Ganja Society came to a standstill in 1987 when the cultivation of cannabis was banned.<ref name=tbs>{{cite web|url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangla/%E0%A6%AB%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0/news-details-78058|title=নওগাঁ শহরজুড়ে ব্রিটিশ আমলের গাঁজা সোসাইটির হাজার কোটি টাকার সম্পদ|lang=bn|first1=Khorshed|last1=Alam|first2=Abbas|last2=Ali|date=7 March 2021|access-date=2 August 2023|website=[[The Business Standard]]}}</ref> After the ban was announced, the government locked up the Ganja Society's warehouses with manufactured cannabis.<ref name=janakantha>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/bangladesh/news/201343|title=নওগাঁ শহরে ৬ বিশাল গাঁজার গুদাম ২ যুগ ধরে অব্যবহৃত|lang=bn|date=2 July 2016|access-date=2 August 2023|newspaper=[[Janakantha]]}}</ref>

==Assets==
According to 2013 accounts, Ganja Society had 40 acres of immovable property. It has properties in various places in [[Naogaon]]. In the past it had properties in different parts of Bengal. It still has a account with [[West Bengal State Co-Operative Bank|Bengal Cooperative Bank]]. Four warehouses under it are currently owned by the [[Department of Narcotics Control]].<ref name=tbs/> After the prohibition of cannabis production, its cold storage was leased, which was used to store potatoes. However, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], it could not be leased out again.<ref name=jago/> According to [[Banglanews24.com]], the Ganja Society still has properties worth at least {{BDT|100 crore}} in Naogaon.<ref name=banglanews>{{cite web|url=https://www.banglanews24.com/economics-business/news/bd/954260.details|title=গাঁজার রাজ্য নওগাঁ, এখনো রয়েছে শতকোটি টাকার সম্পদ!|lang=bn|first=Towhid|last=Islam|date=31 August 2022|access-date=2 August 2023|website=[[Banglanews24.com]]}}</ref>

==Issues==
The Ganja Society used to form committees on the basis of elections in whose management allowances were paid to its members by the Society. Besides this means several hospitals and schools were run by its fund. But after a member filed a court writ against the 2006 elections, the Ganja Society's responsibilities came under an interim committee, and these activities stopped. Also, after the government appointed the cooperative officer of [[Naogaon Sadar Upazila]] as the executive officer of the Ganja Society, there were allegations of misappropriation of its funds.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%81%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0|title=গাঁজা সোসাইটির শত কোটি টাকার সম্পদ বেহাতের আশঙ্কা|lang=bn|date=24 June 2015|access-date=2 August 2023|newspaper=[[Prothom Alo]]}}</ref> According to a section of its partners, the employees of Ganja Society, political figures and unscrupulous groups have illegally grabbed and sold its properties.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bangla.bdnews24.com/bangladesh/article898416.bdnews|title=নওগাঁ গাঁজা সোসাইটি রক্ষায় সংবাদ সম্মেলন|lang=bn|date=19 December 2014|access-date=2 August 2023|website=[[Bdnews24.com]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Co-operatives}}
{{Naogaon District}}
[[Category:Naogaon District]]
[[Category:Agricultural cooperatives]]
[[Category:Cooperatives in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:1917 establishments in British India]]

Ganja Society - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article