An open air prison where prisoners cultivate vegetables and greens that they sell in Raj Bhavan and Vidhana Soudha is no fantasy. Prisoners at the Devanahalli open air prison hit a turnover of over Rs. 15 lakh in the past financial year, selling veggies they grow.
The tempo vehicle selling vegetables in the MS Building Complex every alternate day at lunch time comes directly from the open air jail, which houses prisoners exhibiting good behaviour. “We have been selling vegetables grown in our nursery for the past four years. The project has been a phenomenal success,” says Paramesh, jailor, open air jail.
The vehicle makes its first stop at Raj Bhavan, followed by the head office of the Prisons Department on Sheshadri Road before rounding up the day with a stop at the MS Building complex at lunch time. Though, the vegetables are not entirely organic, they would have been harvested that morning.
