Want to buy organic jaggery that is free from chemical and fertiliser residue? Prison will soon be the place to go for it. Inmates of Paithan Open Jail will soon be manufacturing and selling this natural sweetener to outsiders.
Jaggery is used in jails to prepare sheera (a sweet dish) served to jail inmates twice a week. Sachin Salve, superintendent of Paithan Open Jail, told DNA that they had launched a jaggery making unit inside the correctional facility located in Aurangabad district. Production last week.
"The unit will ensure employment for around 20 convicts," Salve said, "We will focus on producing organic jaggery that will be supplied to all jails in the state. The surplus production will be sold in the market after necessary permissions come through."
Paithan open jail has around 25 acres of sugarcane plantations and the administration has plans to increase it to 60 acres. This will be the source for the jaggery, though drought and low rainfall in Marathwada have affected sugarcane production on the plantation. Currently, the unit produces 200 kgs of jaggery every day but has the capacity to process 25 tonnes.
The machinery for the unit was sourced from Daund in Pune district at Rs 7 lakh. Prisoners will earn Rs 61 per day for working in the unit.
The administration at Paithan Open Jail was also the one to start Maharashtra's first-ever snacks centre called 'Hotel Sagar Kinara'. It is run by inmates and food is cooked on a wood-fired stove.
The Paithan Open Jail is spread over 335 hectares of land, which includes forested area, and houses 500 inmates.
Open jails have lower security and more space for convicts to work in occupations such farming. The inmates are selected on the basis of good behaviour and the possibility of rehabilitation after release.
