‘Srijan’ an exclusive showroom of products made by jail inmates at Chandigarh. (Express photo by Jaipal Singh)In the first two days after its inauguration on Thursday, “Srijan” — a shop selling items made by inmates of Burari Model Jail — recorded a sale of Rs 17,000. The shop has emerged as a popular landmark in the Sector 22 market.
‘’This number is only for the sweets sold so far. We have not yet started selling furniture. We have started online bookings for furniture items. People in large numbers are visiting our shop,’’ said Ankit Garg, shop’s manager.
‘’Demand of sweets has already exceeded our initial expectation that is overwhelming. Our sale is increasing with every passing day. From tomorrow, we are going to increase supply of sweets to meet the high demand,’’ he said.
At least 30 inmates are making sweets and more than a 100 are making furniture items. Each of them is paid Rs. 60 to 80 per day. The Burari jail is run by Vocational Institute, Prisoners Training and Welfare Society.
“We are selling our products at 30 per cent lesser rate in comparison to market price. Jalebi is our hot-selling product. We prepare sweets with fresh milk with and do not add colour or preservatives”, Ankit added.
IG Prisons OP Mishra had on Thursday said that the prison administration had been allotted a shop-cum-flat in 2010 in the Sector 22 market. The ground floor of the complex has been renovated and converted into a showroom for exclusive display of products made by inmates.
The shop’s walls are painted with motivational quotes in an attempt to change people’s perception towards prisoners.
R K Dhawan, one of the visitors, said, ‘’ I was searching for this shop from last two days. I heard about this shop from my friend but he didn’t know the address. Finally, I located it today. I have come to buy sweets for my family.”
Madhu Gupta, another visitor said, ‘’It is a righteous idea. The work put up by inmates is tangible. It is going to create more respect for prisoners. Once a person has been punished for his sins, he should not be looked as a criminal. It will help a prisoner in restoring his lost respect and identity”.
“It’s astonishing to see how skillful the jail inmates are,’’ said Bhupinder Sandhu.
Arun Sharma from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh who had come to the shop to buy sweets, said ‘’I have made a video of the products available here. I shall circulate it among my friends.”
