HYDERABAD, Jan 11: Sindh advisor for finance and cooperation Aftab Ahmad Shaikh has underlined the need for strengthening cooperative societies in the province.

He was visiting the office of the registrar, Sindh Cooperative Societies, here on Saturday, where he was given a briefing on the cooperative department by registrar Shams Jafrani.

The provincial advisor also stressed the need for maintaining effective coordination between cooperative department functionaries and cooperative societies.

The registerer told the advisor there were 4,217 registered cooperative societies in Sindh, with a membership of more than 700,000 people, working in agriculture, housing, fisheries and other fields.

He also informed him about problems, faced by the Sindh Provincial Cooperative Bank, regarding slow recovery of loans, and about measures taken in this regard.

The advisor said the bank should be rehabilitated on sound footings so that it could prove to be a useful forum for providing credit facilities to small borrowers through cooperative societies.

He directed the authorities concerned that issues, pending with the State Bank and the Federal Bank for Cooperatives, should be taken up on priority basis.

He said the Sindh Cooperative Housing Authority should be activated and certain cooperative laws should be amended to meet the present day requirements.