Fish and veggies to keep jailbirds busy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thanks to its ambience, the Sub-Jail at Poojappura can easily be mistaken for a park. A fish and tortoise pond, thick lushes of green and a mini boat, the place is anything but dark and broody. The beautification is done as part of helping the inmates relieve their stress. Besides beautification, more vocational training courses have been introduced for the inmates.

"These include dragon fruit cultivation and ornamental fish breeding," says Poojappura Special Sub-Jail superintendent Al Shan A.The training to cultivate dragon fruit was given to the inmates by Vijayan from Palode. The ornamental fish cultivated here include Sea Tail Molly, Chocolate Molly, Balloon Molly, Swordfish and Mickey Mouse Platy. More beta fish will be added to the breeding tanks soon.

"The ornamental fish will be sold at a little lesser price than the market value," says the superintendent.
However, there are limitations as an inmate stays here only for three or fewer months  on remand while others are trial prisoners. Thus, it is difficult to train them and we cannot use their workforce further. "Those who are committing crime unintentionally will be worried about their family and this causes stress. The vocational training programmes will help them relax," says the superintendent.

Other cultivations in the jail include cabbage, cauliflower, paddy, amaranthus, ginger, garlic, onion, pea, bitter guard, tomato and ladies' finger. "The barren land was transformed into fertile land using bio fertilisers. Hence, the vegetables produced here are organic," said Al Shan.

"We use these vegetables for cooking and the remaining are sold to the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation," he added.Other than agriculture, the jail is equipped with a facility for preparing biriyani and idly. A total of 600 idly and 300 biriyani packets are sold from the special sub-jail every day. It is not only the inmates who benefit from gardening and beautification but also the jail
officials. "The greenery keeps the negativity away," says Al Shan.