SSK Sakhi Diwali Fair in Akurdi (Pune)

As a part of the SSK Sakhi Diwali Fair at Akurdi in Pimpri-Chindhwad near Pune, an exhibition of the products made by women and SHGs from the city was held at JBGVS premises from 20^th  October to 23^rd October 2016. A total of 70 women entrepreneurs participated in the exhibition. The fair also had a special theme titled “Say no to plastic bags”, which highlighted the menace of indiscriminate use of plastic bags.

The fair was inaugurated at the hands of Ms Anjali Pendase, Director, Manobal Sanstha, who delivered a very inspiring speech to women in general and stall holders in particular. Mr Madhur Bajaj, Vice Chairman, Bajaj Auto; Mr C P Tripathi, Chairman, JBGVS and Col V G Deshmukh were also present at the time of valedictory function.

A unique competition was also organized for the stall owners, which considered criteria like cleanliness, decoration and salesmanship. Mrs Hemangini Thanawala was invited to select the  three best stalls. Bamboo craft making stall got the 1^st prize, while the food and homemade Ayurvedic products stalls received the 2^nd and 3^rd prizes respectively. To encourage stall holders, five more runner-ups were also felicitated. A nominal entry fee of Rs 100 per stall was charged to the participants.

During the four-day period, around 5000 visitors from Pimpri-Chinchwad visited the exhibition. Visitors included SHGs, NGOs, BAL employees, corporators and women from JBGVS project areas from Pune district. Some cultural programmes, game shows and a lucky draw was also arranged for the visitors to enhance foot falls. The response was very encouraging. Total sale from all stalls was about Rs eight lakhs, while JBGVS spent about Rs 1.45 lakhs to organize the fair.

Due to the good response, the stall owners were very happy. They also thanked SSK for the facilities and support provided during the fair. All of them expressed their willingness to attend such type of exhibitions in future.