Pamphlets, notebook covers distributed in 4,000 villages warning about hazards of fakes Soniya Tripathi

Pune, June 2: Not far from the city, pamphlets, notebook covers and notices are being distributed warning people about the prevalence of spurious products across the villages of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. In an awareness drive, Rural Relations - a consumer relation organisation - is attempting to caution villagers regarding counterfeit products available in the market

Pradeep Lokhande, the brain behind the drive, says more people are falling prey to counterfeit products in the rural markets every day. “These products don’t have a valid address or an ingredients’ list and are not even registered,” he says. “There are over 120 duplicate products of Parle-G biscuits, for instance. Toothpastes, tea, hair oil and face-creams have their counterfeits too.”

According to Lokhande, people opt for ‘fakes’ as they come cheap. “We are trying to inform people about the hazards of these products. We want them to spend more and purchase better products. This drive is not to endorse any brand,” he says.

Lokhande’s peers who go around introducing themselves as ‘village developers’ are targetting their segments armed with pamphlets in local languages which have logos cautioning people regarding counterfeit products. One way they have devised of getting through to the people is their children. “People listen to what children say in small villages. We will educate secondary school students by distributing among them notebook covers with information on them,” Lokhande says. Targetting shopkeepers is also on the cards.

Lokhande says the drive is not time-bound and will be clubbed with other campaigns. “For instance, the anti-counterfeit logo will be embossed on this envelope,” Lokhande says, holding out a ‘Arrest Water, Save Water’ card.

The drive was kicked off six months ago in over 400 villages across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. “We plan to extend the drive in as many villages as we can,” says Lokhande, who has chalked out 4,000 villages in Maharashtra with a population between 2,000 and 10,000. “We wanted to cover a village with around 350 families,” he says.

Other projects Lokhande has taken up include connecting non-resident Indians with their villages, a campaign that provided computers to children to give them a feel of technology and train management aspirants.