Coming up,Jail Factory Outlet with replicas of Le Corbusier’s furniture designs

Initially,office furniture will be sold. Later,depending on the demand,home furniture and other products will be added.

The showroom space has been given free of cost by the Administration.

“People tend to commit crimes due to paucity of funds. If we can impart livelihood skills in jails,we can go a long way in the reformation process of inmates,” Navjot Randhawa,Additional Inspector General of Prisons and Director of the Government Museum and Art Gallery,told Newsline. “If we sell the products made in the jail,we can give more work to inmates. In the process,the skills inmates acquire will help them find jobs once they are released.”

The fact that such work challenges the physical and mental prowess of prisoners is an added advantage,he added.

“As inmates are trained by professionals,the furniture has an aesthetic appeal and is affordable. This will be the first-of-its kind shop in the region,” Randhawa said.

As the products manufactured by inmates are governed by the jail manual,not more than 10 per cent of profit can be earned over the manufacturing cost. The design of the furniture is basic and uncluttered.

Randhawa plans to renovate the shop and name it ‘Jail Factory Outlet’.

From artistic endeavours to skill-oriented tasks,it has been a consistent effort of jail authorities to keep inmates busy.

In the jail,inmates get involved in vocations like tailoring,making products from waste materials and producing artifacts.