Jail inmates at their creative best

Bhanu P Lohumi 

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 26

Come August and ‘Pehal’ retail outlets will come up outside jails in Shimla (Kaithu), Dharamsala and Nahan. At the outlets, handloom, handicraft, bakery and Himachali items will be available at nominal rates as the Department of Prisons has decided to pocket only 5 per cent profit.

The department has engaged them in the manufacturing of bakery, handloom and handicraft items. The inmates are making biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries, pizzas, burgers, patties and other products. Chefs of Radisson Blue have trained them.

 “The initiative has also helped the prisoners earn wages to the tune of Rs 71 lakh in the past one year and the inmates at Nahan and Kanda handlooms centres weaved over 13,000 m fabrics, besides 1,200 uniforms for jail staff,” said DG (Prisons) Somesh Goyal, adding that blankets made by the inmates were supplied to Prisons, Police and Health Departments.  “We supplied 500 blankets to the Mandi hospital and have also written to all hospitals to contact us in case they need any item,” said Goyal. He added that the cost of one blanket was Rs 500 only.

  “Jails are not torture houses for convicts, but reformatories to make them good citizens, armed with vocational skills to lead a better and useful life after undergoing the sentence,” he stated. “Talks are on with officials of the Social Welfare Department and the Skill Development Corporation to provide financial help to the prisoners for startups,” he said.