Christmas 2017: Thane jail bakery turns more popular amid festival spirit

Mumbai: Come any festive season, the baking section of the Thane jail is busy preparing goodies like cakes, biscuits and other such confectionery items. This Christmas too unlike other festivals, cakes were in demand which turned out to be a total sell-out.

With the help of jail administration, inmates over here have learnt many new skills and one of them is baking and confectionery. Thane prison cakes are so popular among the buyers, that the inmates have successfully managed to complete orders of up to Rs 1 lakh till date. Christmas season not being an exception, the cakes baked for this particular day were all sold out. Sponge cakes, cup cakes, biscuits are delicacies that people can eat any time. The jail bakery is full of them and it is in great demand.

“Whatever our inmates prepare here are definitely a hit among are usual customers. Be it pineapple, strawberry, sponge and plum cakes and at the same time farsan (a salty snack item) they are all much in demand. This year we had a rise in some orders placed here and our inmates were able to complete it in time,” said Nitin Waychal, superintendent of Thane jail.

This prison also specialises in preparing birthday cakes which are made prior to orders placed which also is in good demand. The naan katais (biscuits) are also on the top list, but the breads (pav) here are always in demand.

Prices for the soft sponge cake is Rs150, whereas cupcakes are for Rs 7 each. “This year our production shot up and there was an increase in the total income due to heavy orders. There are fresh orders of Rs 39,600 for soft breads (pavs). Our inmates are being trained by new bakers in town,” Waychal adds. Many NGOs and various jail administrations place orders on certain occasions.

There are many skills that are being taught in the prison for inmates such as carpentry, gardening, cooking and baking. The skills that can earn them their livelihood once they are released from the prison. The bakery and furniture department of this jail too are the talk of town as one can witness too many experiment being carried out over here. There are orders for new year cakes and also for birthday cream cakes. One can get these items on any day from the bakery department of the jail.