Up for sale at Kumbh — furniture, shoes & bakery items among 100 products made by UP jail inmates
The jail officials claimed that they have sold products worth over Rs 1 lakh in the last five days and are hopeful of more sales as the Maha Kumbh progresses.
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The prison officials said at the Maha Kumbh, they are trying to highlight their “One Jail, One Product” initiative, with each jail contributing a different product (Express Photo)Sports shoes, bakery products, furniture made from sheesham and other wooden articles are among more than 100 items made by inmates from across jails in Uttar Pradesh which are in demand at this year’s Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.
To facilitate the sale of products made by convicts and undertrials, the Uttar Pradesh Prisons Administration and Reform Services has set up a shop at the Maha Kumbh site.
The prison officials said at the Maha Kumbh, they are trying to highlight their “One Jail, One Product” initiative, with each jail contributing a different product and that it will boost the morale of the prisoners who made these items.
For instance, the wooden furniture was made at the Bareilly and Naini central jails, shoes at the Agra district jail, bakery products at the Varanasi district jail, carpets at the Bhadohi and Mirzapur district jails, and amla (Indian gooseberry) products were prepared at the Pratapgarh district jail.
“We are receiving a positive response from the visitors here,” said Naini Central Jail Senior Superintendent Rang Bahadur Patel, who has been appointed as the nodal officer for the event in Prayagraj.
“The preparations for selling products made by prisoners at the mega event were in progress for the past four months. The jail authorities were instructed to submit a list of products they would be sending for sale at the event,” he added.
As part of their preparations, 24 jails submitted the lists of products they planned to send to the mela shop, he said, adding that products from different jails were first sent to the Naini jail, from where they were further dispatched to Prayagraj.
The shop opened on January 11, with nearly 10 jail staffers headed by a deputy jail officer managing it.
The jail officials claimed that they have sold products worth over Rs 1 lakh in the last five days and are hopeful of more sales as the Maha Kumbh progresses.
“Our main attraction is wooden articles because people trust that our products are made of pure sheesham wood. We purchase sheesham for making the furniture. Another item grabbing people’s attention is the footwear from Agra. We have informed the jails producing shoes and wooden items to prepare more products and send them soon,” said a jail staff member assigned to the shop.
The sale of products will also help the prisoners stay connected with society and support their reintegration into the mainstream, he added.
Messages will be conveyed to the prisoners about the sale performance of their products at the mela, he said.
The prison authorities said the high-quality products prepared by inmates are a result of the skill training they receive through various programmes run by the government and non-governmental organisations in the jails.
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