Handicrafts by jailbirds decorate households this Christmas

HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, DEC 26
They celebrated Christmas within the prison walls; but the prisoners of Aguada jail contributed their bit for the society when decorative items made by them beautified houses of many people across the State.
Jail authorities said that the handicraft items specially made by prison-inmates lodged in Aguada Central Prison were sold in Calangute market by the State government.
“This was the first time that we displayed the crafts made by the prisoners for direct sale. Earlier, we tried selling these products through an NGO, which was not a success,” said an official.
The items included Christmas stars and other wooden and clay sculptures.
Officials said that the items were on sale for three days at the market. The sale worth Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 was recorded for the entire three days.
Jail authorities said that the prisoners worked for one-year to create these items. “The money earned would be deposited in the account of the prisoners, who can take it away when their sentence gets over,” officials said.
The response for the present sale was a huge success and this has certainly boosted morale of prisoners.
The arts included wooden made Hyderabad charminar which was quoted at Rs 7,500 and similar items costing 3,500, Rs 800 and other crafts which sold like hot cake amongst tourists and locals.
This is not the first time that prisoners have reached out to the society through their hard work from behind bars. Central Jail has already tied up with the Printing & Stationary department, who assigns them the work of folding papers and binding.
The workshop within the jail also has candle making, paper bags, carpentry, tailoring, book binding, gardening, mess and other activities to refresh the minds of prisoners.
“After their release, the inmates can get into the business of their own to earn income for their family,” said a jail official. Jail officials including Raju Patil, Avito D’Ssouza and Shridhar Pangam under the supervision of Superintendent of Prisons Meghnath Parab organized the sale.
Aguada jail houses 160 male prisoners including 50 convicts and 36 female prisoners of which six are convicts in different criminal cases.