pune the bhimthadi jatra a platform for women selfhelp groups shgs to market their produce has entered the fifth year with several success stories to its credit over 162 select shgs from all over the country will participate in this years jatra to be held at the sspms ground near the rto office from october 21 to 24womens groups from mizoram west bengal karnataka himachal pradesh orissa andhra pradesh and maharashtra will take part displaying a range of handicrafts and handlooms besides a plethora of food items some of the regular participants shared their experiences of bonding with the bhimthadi jatra and how it helped them improve their businessvidya mhatre a part of the citybased shri swami samarth mahila bachat gat has created a reputation for serving the best alibaug special fish besides other exotic seafood items i took the risk of offering these thennotsofamous dishes at the jatra and my earnings actually took off well this also helped me start a catering service soon ill open a seafood eatery in baner said mhatre at a press conference on tuesdaythe bahinabaipurnache mande selfhelp group is known for its mouthwatering khandeshi recipes especially the mande or large puranpoli today the shg supplies its specialities to outlets in pune satara and kolhapurthe ambika mahila bachat gat from khutgaon in daund has written one of the biggest success stories of the event so far known for formulating and manufacturing over 30 varieties of household masalas the group of over 100 women worked as farm labourers over five years ago ambika today has clients as far as in germany and australia some rs 7 crore have been granted to us by the state government this money will be used for pouchpacking building our facility in khutgaon on a piece of land approved to us and on other marketing initiatives said kamaltai pardeshi who heads the ambika bachat gat special laddoos made from groundnut and sabudana by members of the gayatri mahila bachat gat from baramati are a hit at the bhimthadi we are now selling our products to all sweet marts and major malls in and around baramati said ashwini dhongde a member of the gayatri group over the years these shgs have significantly improved packaging of products the women now have yearlong orders and have become financially selfsufficient said sunanda pawar a trustee of the agriculture development trust the fourday bhimthadi jatra this year will have a dedicated space for women entrepreneurs a separate hangar for organic products and a big cultural pavilion showcasing the traditional folk arts of maharashtra and other states