Punjab village opens own mall to beat inflation

Jalandhar: Aimed at battling inflation and sub-standard quality of essential goods in the market, a group of enterprising villagers has opened a 'mall' here, selling a wide range of products at attractive discounts.

The mall, named as 'Nanak Hut', situated at about 40 km from the district headquarters, was conceptualised by 10 people of Seechewal village with the help of social activist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal.

"In the wake of rising inflation and poor quality of products available in the market, 10 people of the village created a society and kept forth the idea of the mall. For this, we granted them a plot," said Balbir Singh Seechewal, trustee of the organization running the mall.

The secretary of the society, Kulvinder Singh asserted, "We don't compromise on quality of the merchandise. The mall is drawing customers not just from nearby villages but also from cities like Kapurthala."

Talking about the profit margin from such an enterprise, the Secretary stated, "We have reduced the profit margins to 5-10 per cent of the cost price, because of which the customers are getting them at prices much lower than the listed price or the MRP."

"All items of daily use, including electronics, food items, vegetables, clothes etc are available at reasonable prices under one roof at the mall," he added.

The society aims to earn a profit of just 5-10 per cent of the business, informs another society member. "We are making a profit of 5-10 per cent that goes into the expenses of electricity bill, carriage charge and employees' salary. The remaining sales proceeds will be donated to the college run by Seechewal for children's education," P S Nauli said.

Seechewal, a popular figure in the village due to his successful campaigns on water conservation in the past, said that they are mulling to expand the venture to other villages of the district.