Hindu & Muslim inmates at Agra jail make cow-dung diyas

AGRA: At least 15 Muslim prisoners along with their Hindu colleagues were busy preparing diyas for Diwali at the Agra district jail on Thursday.
The jail administration has roped in 40 prisoners to prepare one lakh diyas from cow dung, out of which, 51,000 diyas will be supplied to a trust for 40 paisa each. The remaining will be sold to the public at a rate of 50 paisa per piece.
Agra district jail superintendent PD Salonia while talking to TOI said, "The cow shelter within the jail premises has 88 cows and their dung is being used to make diyas. A team of jail inmates including Hindus and Muslims have already prepared over 30,000 diyas and each of them is paid a daily wage of Rs 25."
"We have received an order for 51,000 diyas from Vedmata Shree Gayatri Trust in Anwalkheda here. The rest will be put up for sale near the jail gate. An exhibition will also be organized at Kothi Meena Bazar fair," the officer said.
"If the inmates manage to make more than 1,00,000 diyas, we will use them to light up the jail premises on Diwali," he further added.
According to jail officials, inmates are following an unconventional style to make the diyas. The hemispherical glass of defunct LED bulbs is being used as a mould to shape wet cow dung powder into diyas.
Since 2019, the Agra district jail inmates are preparing cow dung logs, which are used as an alternative to wood in cremations.
The cow dung logs are supplied to a trust. Jail earns Rs 5 for every kilogram of log prepared by prisoners.