ALAPPUZHA: Gone are the days when prisoners in the state were served the infamous ‘gothambunda’ (wheat balls) as their daily meal. Once a symbol of the harsh realities of jail life, the prison menu has undergone a remarkable transformation. These days, inmates are provided with nutritious and diverse meals, including mutton, fish, chicken, and beef, aimed at ensuring their well-being and rehabilitation.
The menu includes rice, chapati, idly, upma, tapioca, green peas, Bengal gram, aviyal, and sambar. The prisoners eat mutton once every week and fish twice. Chicken and beef are exempted from the daily jail menu but are included in the mass meal in connection with festivals. Nine such festivals are organised in the jail every year.
“The current diet plan was prescribed by the prison advisory committee in 2014,” said P Vijayan, retired superintendent of the Kannur Central Jail.
“The traditional practice of harsh punishments in jails has become outdated. The prisons turn most of the convicts into good people by the end of their imprisonment period. But a few never reform, and they need some kind of mental treatment. Such people commit crimes after their release from jail.”
He said 100 g of mutton is given on Saturdays and 140 g of fish on Mondays and Wednesdays.
P P Baiju, chief legal aid defence counsel of Alappuzha, said jails are commonly called Prisons and Correctional Homes.
“Chenthamara of Nenmara was released on bail and executed twin murders. He never confessed to his first murder, but thought about additional murders. A lack of proper counselling therapy in jails lead to such incidents,” Baiju said.
The jail inmates are also workers. While life-term convicts were earlier sent for hard labour, like breaking rocks, the work patterns have now changed with softer jobs being introduced in prisons. Industrial units — including those of metal work, carpentry, printing, weaving, and food preparation — have been set up in many jails, besides farming.
The government has also fixed minimum wages for prisoners. The daily wages range from Rs 63 to Rs 230. A prisoner doing an additional job will get Rs 230, comprising daily wage and extra wages.
The wages are allotted to prisoners every month and are divided into three portions. One is for the family, another for release, and the third for canteen provisions. The family portion is sent to the account of a family member while the release portion is given to the inmates at the end of their sentence periods. The third portion is for the purchase of daily essentials from the canteen.
Number of prisoners in Kerala - 17,568
(As on February 3, 2025)
Wages of prisoners
In closed jails
Basic pay: Rs 127
Additional job: Rs 168
Skilled jobs: Rs 152
Apprentice: Rs 63
In open jails
Basic pay: Rs 170
Additional job: Rs 230