The Telangana Prisons Department will start operating a petrol bunk on the premises of the District Jail, Nalgonda within 15 days.
In an endeavour to increase the revenue of the Prisons Department and make it self-sufficient, the authorities across the State started running petrol bunks, note-book making units, phenyl units at most of the jails. As part of this, Superintendent of Nalgonda jail, D. Srinivas said that the Prisons Department signed an MoU with IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Limited) to establish petrol bunks at jails, where more than 900 square meters of land was available.
Since there was enough space available here, Mr. Srinivas said that the higher authorities accorded permission to set up a petrol bunk. There will be eight fuel dispensers, four for filling petrol and the rest for diesel.
The work on four diesel dispensers has already been completed. The remaining works were going on at a brisk pace to make the petrol bunk operational in 15 days. Stating that they were keen on providing work to all the convicted inmates housed in the District Jail, the Superintendent said they would deploy eight inmates in three shifts at the bunk apart from appointing six inmates to assist them in maintaining the premises, engaging in gardening and other works. A Deputy Jailer-level officer will manage the entire operations of the bunk. The jail has 207 inmates, including 33 convicts.
The District Jail was already producing quality note-books and phenyl of ‘My Nation’ brand, which are being sold from an outlet on the jail premises. The inmates were being paid Rs. 70 for eight-hour work engaging in note-book manufacturing and phenyl making, but those with the petrol bunk will get Rs. 110 for eight-hour work, he said.
The Prisons Department does not want the work force go waste. “The higher officials want to transform all the jails into a true correctional home by actively involving the inmates in work. They would also walk out with handsome bank balance on their release,” Mr. Srinivas concluded.
