With mercury levels rising in the Capital, an electrical repair shop at Tihar Jail has proved to be a boon for the inmates as well as the administration.
Unlike previous summers, when fans would take a long time to be repaired by the Public Works Department, they are now repaired in a matter hours.
Huge relief
The shop was set up in jail no.1 three months ago. It’s run entirely by the inmates.
Satish Kapoor, who is one of the trainers, says minor repairs are carried out almost instantly at the centre and the ones that require motor winding (which is also taught at the centre) also don’t take more than a day. In the last two months, the shop has repaired 137 fans.
“Earlier, it would take three months to repair one fan, due to which the inmates would suffer. Sometimes, fans would return as late as the winter months, when those were not even required,” says a jail official.
Theory classes
The list of items repaired is not confined only to fans. The inmates repair coolers (a provision only for some), microphones, exhaust fans and speakers of the jail’s public address system.
Among other trainers are Suresh Kumar, who worked as an assistant engineer with the Indian Railways, and Sanjay Sharma, whose expertise lies in motor winding. They and Kapoor also impart theory classes in the cells.
Better prospects
Director General (Prisons) Sudhir Yadav said the shop, like other vocational courses in the jail, was introduced to widen the scope of the inmates. “Currently, we are conducting many courses in jail no.1 on a trial basis. At the electrical school, we are planning to teach them refrigeration and air-conditioning repair work next,” he said.
The inmates are also awarded with diplomas from the Jan Shikshan Sansthan, which comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. “We make sure that the diplomas don’t have jail mentioned anywhere, so that their job prospects are not adversely affected,” said Jail Superintendent Subhash Chander.
The administration now plans to take such courses to other jails.
