Pune: Sheroes Hangout Cafe Opens in Viman Nagar, Expanding Support Network for Acid Attack Survivors
Reported by Radhika Sharma
Viman Nagar, 6th June 2026: Sheroes Hangout Cafe, a survivor-led cafe and community space dedicated to the rehabilitation and empowerment of acid attack survivors, was inaugurated in Pune on June 4 near Jumpstart Preschool in Konark Nagar, Viman Nagar.
Established by Chhanv Foundation with CSR support from Bajaj Finserv, the Pune chapter marks the organisation’s first venture in Maharashtra and is expected to serve as a support and engagement centre for acid attack survivors across the state.
The cafe was inaugurated by Amruta Devendra Fadnavis, founder of Divyaj Foundation, along with Rajeev Jain, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finance Ltd., and Shefali Bajaj, Chairperson of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bajaj Finserv. The event was attended by acid attack survivors, corporate leaders, civil society members, legal representatives, media personnel, and supporters from across the country.
The Pune chapter will provide direct livelihood opportunities to 15 acid attack survivors from different parts of India, all of whom have received professional hospitality training from Taj Vivanta. Beyond employment, the cafe will function as a centre for rehabilitation, survivor support, awareness programmes, advocacy initiatives, and community engagement. Since its inception, Sheroes Hangout has provided livelihood opportunities to more than 100 acid attack survivors, while Chhanv Foundation’s programmes and networks today connect hundreds of survivors across multiple states.
Founded in Agra in 2014, Sheroes Hangout was created as a safe space where acid attack survivors could rebuild confidence, reclaim their identities, and achieve economic independence. Over the years, the initiative has expanded to Lucknow, Noida, Delhi, and now Pune, becoming one of the world’s most recognised survivor-led social enterprises.
The inauguration also marked the opening of Sheroes Festival 2026, a four-day public engagement and cultural initiative being organised from June 4 to 7. Conceived as a celebration of courage, creativity, inclusion, and hope, the festival has brought together artists, musicians, writers, performers, students, and citizens from across the country in solidarity with acid attack survivors.
The festival features storytelling sessions, poetry performances, music concerts, workshops, community conversations, public dialogues, book discussions, and cultural programmes aimed at fostering awareness, empathy, and social inclusion. Participants include Zakir Khan, Priya Malik, Rahgir, Salman Elahi, Ayesha Khan, and several other artists, performers, writers, and social changemakers.
Speaking during the festival, Alok Dixit, Founder and Managing Trustee of Chhanv Foundation, explained why Pune was chosen for the organisation’s latest expansion.
“We chose Pune because in the history of acid attacks, over this decade, we’ve found around 50 of them to be in Maharashtra. So, to reach out to the survivors here, and not only them but also the wider community, to raise awareness against any kind of violence, Sheroes came to Pune,” he said.
According to the foundation, Maharashtra has reported nearly 50 acid attack cases over the past decade, yet lacks a dedicated survivor-led rehabilitation ecosystem. The Pune centre aims to bridge that gap by combining livelihood generation with long-term rehabilitation and public awareness efforts.
The foundation’s work extends beyond operating the cafe. Through training, counselling, education, livelihood generation, leadership development, and community engagement initiatives, survivors are supported in rebuilding confidence, independence, and social inclusion.
Anshu Rajput, a survivor and member of the foundation who works closely with outreach programmes and supports survivors during the early stages of recovery, highlighted the emotional challenges faced by victims.
“In moments when the incident is so fresh in a survivor’s memory, the first thing that they lose is trust. Trusting anyone becomes difficult because in most cases, the attacker isn’t a stranger; it is someone they know, put their trust in, and are related to,” she said.
The foundation also runs advocacy campaigns such as Stop Acid Attacks, which seek to bring acid-related violence into mainstream public discourse and encourage stronger preventive measures.
“Us being on the ground, meeting them and reassuring them comes as comfort to survivors that if they said it’s going to be fine, then maybe, eventually it will be,” Rajput added.
Alongside rehabilitation efforts, Chhanv Foundation continues to advocate for stronger regulation and monitoring of acid sales while expanding support systems for survivors across the country.
“We’re glad that the people of Pune, especially the students and the youth, are aware of the problem; they are practically running the campaign. We do look forward to taking this outreach to educational institutions as well, to curb this acid-related violence at the root,” Dixit added.
