Berhampur: The Ganjam district administration in Odisha has decided to set up a centre for skill development in the premises of a jail to provide training to the inmates, an official said Monday.
The skill-development programmes will help the inmates earn their livelihood once they are released, the official said.
Around 50 out of 197 inmates of the Chhatrapur sub-jail have already completed a three-day training on the production of brooms and dry food items.
They have produced around 500 brooms in a week, sources said.
The skill-based training was imparted to the prisoners in collaboration with the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society and Mission Shakti.
“In the coming days, we will provide training in some other areas, basically keeping in mind the interest of the inmates,” District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) project director Dattatraya Bhausaheb said.
The district administration will sanction Rs 10 lakh from the District Mineral Fund (DMF) for the construction of the skill development training building in the jail premises, Bhausaheb said.
The main objective of the training is to make the prisoners self-reliant and to enhance their skill, said Subhasmita Biswal, the superintendent-cum jailor.
“With these skills, they can lead a decent life and make themselves self-reliant after being released from the jail,” she said.
Ganjam Gruhini Producers’ Company Ltd, a company formed by women’s self-help groups, has been entrusted to market the products.
PTI
