Freedom poultry farm by Vellore Central Prison opens for sale, chicken sold for Rs 130
VELLORE: Vellore Central Prison has introduced the Freedom Poultry Farm, an initiative aimed at providing fresh poultry to the public. The farm, located adjacent to the prison, started functioning for public sales on Wednesday.
The initiative is a part of the Tamil Nadu Prison Department’s self-sustainable poultry farming programme, which was launched in December across nine central prisons, including special women’s prisons. The initiative aims to reduce procurement costs and provide healthier meals for inmates, with an estimated annual savings of Rs 10 crore.
As an extension of this initiative, the prison administration has started selling farm grown chicken to the public, both as whole birds and in cut portions. According to prison officials, “The poultry is being sold at a competitive price as a live chicken is available for Rs 130, whereas in the open market, the price of a chicken is more than Rs 200.”
On Thursday, the first batch of 1.3 kg chicken portions was sold out, and officials anticipate a surge in demand in the coming weeks. “The quality of the chicken is superior to what is available in the market. Inmates have reported that the taste is better compared to the previous quality of chicken,” a prison official said. The poultry farm is managed by an inmate under the supervision of prison authorities. As per prison manual, each inmate is entitled to 300 grams of skinless, boneless chicken twice a week. During the initial phase of the initiative, the farm supplied 145 kg of chicken to the male central prison and 12 kg to the female central prison in Vellore.
Sources said that the Prison Department aims to allocate 40% of the poultry farm’s produce for inmates and 60% for the public, generating revenue that can be reinvested for departmental use.