Artefacts and cloth items made by some inmates of five central prisons were exhibited for the first time at the 85th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Kalaburagi.
Over thousands of items made by inmates of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Shivamogga prisons were on display. The items included carpets, bedsheets, towel, carry bags, and hand bags made by male inmates, and bangles, earrings and artefacts made by women prisoners from Shivamogga jail.
Talking to The Hindu, Nagaraj, a stall owner, and jailer Sunanda said the stall had been set up with the help of district jail authorities. On an average, they made business between ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 every day.
Ms. Sunanda said prisoners engaged in skilled work would get remission and also earn their daily wages. Inculcating work culture in them would help prevent idleness and indiscipline, she said.
She said many inmates were so talented that they did not even need any directions to make the products.
Ms. Sunanda said the aim of training and exhibitions was to make them self-dependent and economically sound.
