Lucknow, Oct. 22 -- UP IASOWA's first Diwali Mela on October 24 will bring women's livelihood initiatives into Lucknow's festive marketplace, including products from Akanksha Samiti's Masala Mathri Kendra, which has provided employment to more than 120 women.

The spices and snacks produced through the Lucknow centre will feature alongside women's enterprises, regional crafts and products associated with welfare institutions. For Akanksha, the mela offers an opportunity to connect its work on women's incomes with customers shopping for Diwali.

Organised by the Uttar Pradesh IAS Officers' Wives Association, UP IASOWA, the event will be held on the front lawn of CSI Club, Raj Bhavan Colony, from 11 am to 10 pm on Saturday.

Dr Neelu Goyal, p...