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Where prisoners run a thriving business
Where Prisoners Run a Thriving Business, Rajahmundry Central Prison, Lives of Hardcore Criminals. They have all been convicted for life. They have committed crimes in a rush of blood and have had to pay a heavy price. People normally don’t like to meet them. Trusting them is a distant reality.
- Petrol pump at Rajahmundry Prison scripts a success story
- Customers respect their hospitality, decent behaviour
- Vizag jail to have a similar unit
- Both prisons cue from Chanchalguda and Cherlapally jails in Hyd
Rajahmundry: They have all been convicted for life. They have committed crimes in a rush of blood and have had to pay a heavy price. People normally don’t like to meet them. Trusting them is a distant reality.
But, here are life convicts who are respected and trusted by people. They work in the petrol bunk being run by the Rajahmundry Central Prison, which is growing rapidly, gaining public confidence. In Hyderabad, the Chanchalguda and Cherlapally jails are also running petrol pumps successfully that have changed the lives of hardcore criminals.
The prison authorities set up the bunk with the cooperation of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on September 24, 2012, at its site. Twenty inmates of the jail work round-the-clock in shifts. The IOCL pays a monthly rent of Rs 42,000. The Prisons department makes a profit of Rs 1.74 for a litre of petrol and Rs 1.05 a litre of diesel.
None initially imagined it will attract customers on a large scale. But the faith the prison authorities placed on their inmates paid off. The lifers have proved the officers’ trust in them was not misplaced.
The prisoners’ discipline, hard work and approach towards customers have made the petrol pump the fast growing such establishment. The brain behind placing trust in them, Deputy Inspector-General of Prisons A Narasimha, is a satisfied man.
Speaking to The Hans India, he explained that the bunk’s daily turnover initially was around Rs 3 lakh. It kept growing every passing day to now touch Rs 10 lakh. The monthly turnover is Rs 3 crore.
The department earns a monthly profit of Rs 6 lakh, which goes to the Prisoner’s Welfare Fund. The DIG credits the jail authorities and the prisoners themselves for maintaining the pump successfully---the second in the State after the one in the Kadapa Central Prison. Plans are afoot to set up another pump in the Visakhapatnam Central Prison. He made it clear that prisons should be correctional centres.
People not only from Rajahmundry, but also adjoining districts, like West Godavari, queue up for petrol or diesel. What is the secret of this success story?. Bhargav Prasad, a regular customer, said quality and the employees’ good response were the main reasons. He did not see any reason why convicted prisoners repeat mistakes. He observed that the employees’ hospitality is laudable. ‘They are particular about returning change to customers’.
Prisoners feel proud to be a part of the establishment. B Ramakrishna of Korukonda mandal, who was convicted for murder, proudly said ‘some customers don’t even bother to look at the meter to check for zero. ‘We approach customers with decency and discipline and in return are respected’
He is paid a daily wage of Rs 70, which enables him to support his family. “Some of our customers wonder how soft-mannered persons like us landed in prison”, he points out. No marks for guessing what the petrol pump manager Srinivasa Rao said. “I don’t receive even a single complaint from customers against the employees”.
