Hope of better business to cut through prison bars

CHANDIGARH: To purchase grams or furniture produced by jail inmates, citizens would not have to wait for exhibitions or carnival. Trying to cash in on the demand for these wares, due to beliefs associated with these, the UT���s jail wing has asked the administration���s house allotment committee to allot it SCF 5-6 at Sector 22 market to enable showcasing these products.
���This proposal would ease out every one and put us in the league of most modern jails in the country.At present one has to place orders or wait for any exhibition,��� said a jail official.
According to sources, it would also include the furniture created on the designs made by of Pierre Jeanerette and Le Corbusier. The official added, ���This would be the first such centre in the world from where one can go and buy replica of these rare designs.���
Jails AIG Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa told TOI that the proposed plan would also include support for the prisoners for a period of time even after their release, a first-of-its-kind effort in the country. ���We have proposed to allow showcasing the products made by any inmate even after six or seven months of his release.���
Drawing inspiration from the Tihar Jail that is having a permanent stall at Delhi Haat in south Delhi to directly gain access to retail customers, Randhawa added, ���for us, this would not be a profit-earning venture, but an element to convert the jail into a reformatory.��� Initiating the plan as an experiment, he said once it clicks, they would add more products in the availability list.
Throwing light on difficulty faced in running shop from the jail, Randhawa said, ���Customers lose time in getting entry permission and completing formalities, which act as a deterrent.���
Sources said they had considered an outlet at the Sukhna Lake earlier but decided against it in favour of the space at Sector 22. ���Other than being commercially viable, the room here is enough for undertaking small repairs,��� officials said.
It could be added that the furniture made in the prison workshop is becoming popular amongst city residents and various government offices for its cheap labour costs. In the last one year, officials added they have got orders worth Rs 10 lakh approximately. Besides, the roasted grams too were a big hit at exhibitions, with nearly one quintal sold in a few days.