THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The prisons department is set to start production of Khadi fabric in central prisons by April last. The department had earlier entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board to produce khadi fabric in prisons that will be purchased by the board and sold through its outlets.
The initiative is part of the efforts to provide skill training to the inmates and make them earn a decent wage while serving a prison term, said Prisons Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay. According to the MoU signed between the prisons department and the Khadi Board, the board will provide yarns to the prisons. The trained prisoners will prepare fabric out of the yarn and that will be bought back by the board.
“We want to provide them the same remuneration that we give to our spinners and weavers,” said a senior Khadi Board official. The official said combining the basic remuneration plus the perks given by the state government, the spinners and weavers of Khadi Board earn around Rs 10,000. “We are checking whether there are any legal issues in the inmates getting the extra perks from the government apart from their basic remuneration. If there is none, then they will get the same amount that our weavers and spinners are getting,” the official added.
The Khadi Board will also provide fabric and get ready-made shirts prepared by the prison inmates in the later stage of the project. Balram said the department is also planning to find other clients, who could purchase the products made by the inmates. “We have handlooms and powerlooms in central prisons. If there is demand, we can manufacture bed sheets, pillows and garments in commercial quantities,” he added.