Rotary Expo boosts local economy in Jalna
Rotary Jalna Expo, a three-day fair hosted jointly by RCs Jalna and Jalna Midtown, RID 3132, in December, generated a total business of ₹5 crore with over one lakh visitors.
Apart from boosting the local economy, small and medium enterprises, spreading a social message about the plastic menace, exposing young minds to the latest tech developments, both clubs raised a good amount of money from the mega exhibition. “The funds raised will help us to hold social initiatives, which is the primary reason for this expo,” said Dhawal Mishrikotkar, president, RC Jalna Midtown. Spread over seven acres, the industrial expo had over 250 exhibitors including small and medium businesses, two product launches — Aprocool’s air conditioner and Vikram Tea’s Tea Tantra, demo stalls for children such as planetarium, mobile science lab, robotics, 3D printing, and an aeromodelling display that drew over 25,000 school students. One of the highlights is that a carpet stall made a business of over ₹10 lakh in three days and “even after the exhibition, people continued to throng this stall.”
Mercedes Benz India head Vyankatesh Kulkarni inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of Jalna district collector Vijay Rathod and DG Rukmesh Jakhotiya. Another feature is the ISRO Rocket Launcher Show, a tall edifice of 4,700 eco-bricks made from seven tonnes of plastic from landfills, thus sequestering around seven tonnes of Co2 from the environment. More than 15,000 students watched the planetarium show, robotics demo, and were awestruck by the Kids’ Gymnastics Talent sponsored by Aarya Contortion World with Rtn Pooja Rathi as its project chair.
Rotary Club of Jalna president Kishor Deshpande and secretary Prashant Mahajan coordinated with Mishrikotkar, Pratik Nanavati, president-elect, RC Jalna Midtown, and Rtn Yashraj Peety for the Rotary exhibition.
“It was a one-of-its-kind initiative that served Rotary’s core areas and benefited Jalna citizens, the local economy, aided the promotion of small and homegrown enterprises, and enhanced the public image of Rotary,” said Mishrikotkar. RC Jalna initiated the exhibition in 2007 and followed it up with two more editions in 2011 and 2017.
