The festive mood in the Capital owing to Christmas and New Year celebrations saw the cash registers ringing at the Tihar Jail Bakery as well, with the sales figure for its inventory going up by almost 50 per cent in December compared to the previous month.
Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta told The Hindu on Thursday the factory sold products worth Rs.67 lakh last month due to increased demand for bakery products like cakes, cookies and other packaged food material. The corresponding figure for November was Rs.45 lakh.
The jump of Rs.22 lakh, said Mr. Gupta, was mainly because of some bulk orders the bakery received in December, including one single order worth Rs.15 lakh.
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Another factor, according to him, was the high footfall at some events where stalls selling the bakery’s products were put up.
Mr. Gupta added that the jail administration had made several efforts to participate in such events in the past year.
The fact that the number was significantly higher than the average monthly figure of Rs.50 lakh and up almost by 50 per cent when put against the numbers of December 2012 (Rs.45 lakh) reflected the increased volume of sales on a monthly and year-on-year basis, said Mr. Gupta. He credited the efforts put in by the inmates working in the factory.
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Tihar Jail products are sold at many outlets in Delhi and some parts of the National Capital Region, including all court premises and multi-brand retail chains.
In 2013, new stores were added with the inauguration of the fifth one in the Jail Complex and one at the Indira Gandhi National Open University campus.
Mr. Gupta said a request for an outlet received from Amity University in Noida was also under consideration. New outlets for the bakery’s products were inaugurated at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Khari Baoli and Kishan Ganj in 2012.
In addition to the sale of products, bread and biscuits served to the 13,000-odd inmates on a regular basis are also manufactured in the bakery.
In the last week of December, the jail administration, in association with the Union Minister of Tourism and Delhi Institute of Hotel Management, Government of Delhi, launched an eight-week-long programme under the title ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ for inmates of Jail No. 2, where the bakery is situated.
Most of the 80 inmates who have enrolled for the course imparting training in baking and cooking are those already working at the bakery.