Jail products under one roof

Encouraged by the good response to jail products, authorities at the Central Prisons Mysore have decided to open a sales outlet in the heart of the city. The shop will be named ‘Parivarthana Products’ and the space has been identified on the ground floor of the main post office on Ashoka Road, at Nehru Circle.

An officer, on condition of anonymity, told Deccan Herald, the shop, expected to be opened in a month or two, will offer bakery items, vegetables, greens and even garments, mainly shirts, under one roof.

This follows the steady revenue generated from the bakery opened in front of the jail and mobile bakery stationed at Law Court’s Complex during lunch hour. On an average, a revenue of Rs 5,000 is generated per day from selling bakery products alone.

Puffs (a crispy fast food made using maida flour, stuffed with vegetables), jam-bun and cream-bun are much in demand, followed by cakes — both plain and honey — and biscuits. The bakery that was started in August 2012, has a sophisticated kitchen inside the jail itself, with trained prisoners manning it.

The garment making unit, opened at Bangalore Jail a few months ago, is doing well and has been contributing to the sales outlets opened in Jayanagar and Rajajinagar in the State capital. In Mysore too, on an experimental basis, the garments — full arm and half arm shirts — were put on sale during the Dasara Exhibition. The response was overwhelming with 70 of the total 100 shirts sold during the expo. It was available in the range of Rs 680 and Rs 700.

The open space inside the jail is being used to grow vegetables like brinjal, radish and greens like spinach, dantu and menthye (Fenugreek). They will be sold at the outlet at affordable prices.

The officer said, talks are underway with the postal authorities over revenue sharing. The matter is before the higher ups in Bangalore and the reply is awaited.