Prison term put to productive use

HYDERABAD: The APPD provides vocational training in 14 various trades in all central prisons.These are both training and production centres. Vocational training includes weaving on power looms, making steel furniture, phenyl and soap production and bakery. The department sets up stalls at various places and at exhibitions and displays the products made by both men and women prisoners.Products range from bed sheets, foot rests, tables and wooden stands to biscuits, cakes, saris and candles.They are marketed under the brand name Sudhaar.The prisoners who work at these vocational training units earn about Rs 25 and Rs 15 each per day under skilled and semiskilled categories respectively.At the annual industrial exhibition in Hyderabad, the APPD set up a stall and did about `25 lakh business.The APPD is setting up a permanent prison products stall at Chanchalguda central prison so that products can be sold through out the year.The stall is likely be inaugurated before March 15 this year, said Gopinatha Reddy.‘Furniture has good demand’A skilled worker at Cherlapally Central Prison, K Madhusudhan Chary (47), from Nizamabad, was convicted for murder and is serving his 18th year in jail.He says he has found his way to a better life in the prison by working at production units and sending money to his family.“I am a carpenter and I also make steel furniture.Like me, there are 25 others in the team.We are all happy and doing a good job because we get encouragement from the prison officials,” he said.The furniture made by his team has good demand, he claims proudly ‘furniture has good demand’A skilled worker at Cherlapally Central Prison, K Madhusudhan Chary (47), from Nizamabad, was convicted for murder and is serving his 18th year in jail.He says he has found his way to a better life in the prison by working at production units and sending money to his family.“I am a carpenter and I also make steel furniture. Like me, there are 25 others in the team. We are all happy and doing a good job because we get encouragement from the prison officials,” he said. The furniture made by his team has good demand, he claims proudly.