MSEZ gives helping hand to light future of rural women

Mumbai, Nov 6 (UNI) The festival of lights, Diwali, this year is all set to illuminate hundreds of households under the Mumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) near here, with a special glow on the faces of women.

Women in this area generally work in farms for a full day for about 200 days against daily wages of about Rs 50-70. For the rest of the year, they work as domestic maids or perform other menial chores. This year, however, a helping hand will be provided by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) department of the MSEZ, to the project-affected persons (PAPs) that encouraged women to set up Self Help Groups (SHGs). This has resulted in formation of about a dozen SHGs, with an aim to promote the habit of saving and launching small business enterprises, individually or through a cooperative.

Realising that there was a ready market for traditional Diwali delicacies, including besan laddoo and chivda, the SHGs have decided to engage into business of making and selling these items, which are locally called as 'Faraal'.

Mrs Latika Dongaonkar, a housewife with culinary skills, when requested by the MSEZ to guide these SHGs, she agreed happily.

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