TIRUCHY: “Reformation is much harder if a prisoner is confined within four walls. Chances of him/her turning more deviant is high in such case,” said G Shanmugasundaram, DIG (Prisons). To keep prisoners occupied and help them reform their lives, the Prison department has planned to deploy more inmates in semi-open prison to do works under its various sections.
The works include soap making, tailoring, bakery, charcoal bag making, cloth pressing and agriculture. In the primary phase, four inmates would be added to the existing 25 inmates to work in six different sections. In addition to it, a butcher shop was inaugurated at freedom bazaar on Sunday. Two inmates would be deployed to rear goats and sell it at a lesser price than the market. The money earned through the sales would be used for a victim compensation fund, prison development fund and salary of inmates.
Speaking to TNIE, G Shanmugasundaram said, “An idle mind is a devil’s workshop as the old saying goes. There are high chances that a criminal might turn more deviant if he/she is confined. Involving them in agriculture and other sorts of works will help reform their lives. After getting released, these vocational training will help them lead a normal life.”
Further, Shanmugasundaram said that the department would make use of all the agricultural area for cultivating all sorts of crops. This includes cultivating herbal plants, which will be used for making medicinal dishes, to be added to the freedom bazaar eatery. “Currently only 21 acres of the 184 acres are used for the purpose. Soon, all sort of crops will be cultivated. We are also planning to do 100 per cent organic farming on the prison premises,” he said.
Meanwhile, freedom bazaar in charge Thirumurugan spoke about the difficulty in selecting ‘good-behaving’ inmates with proper records.