India’s 1st fuel outlet run by women convicts inaugurated in TN

Chennai: India’s first retail fuel outlet fully managed by women prisoners was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Minister for Law and Prisons S Regupathy on Friday.

“About 30 female prisoners will be employed at this petrol retail outlet and the prisoners will get Rs 6,000 each as monthly salary,” an official release said.

Named Freedom Filling Station, the outlet is located on Ambattur Road outside the premises of the Special Prison for Women (SPW) complex in Puzhal, Chennai.

“It will go a long way in reforming and rehabilitating the convicts,” the Tamil Nadu prison department said.

DGP in charge of Prisons and Correctional Services Amaraesh Pujari said that this opportunity will provide women prison inmates an opportunity to learn new skills and gain work experience, which can help them find employment after their release. Also, it will give them a sense of responsibility, dignity, and self-worth, which can boost their confidence and morale. They can earn some income which they can use to support their families or save for their future.

The initiative will open up exposure to the outside world and interaction with customers and the larger society as well, which in turn can help improve their social skills and also reduce isolation. The plan will encourage prison inmates to behave well and follow rules, as they have to meet “certain criteria and behavioral yardsticks” to be eligible for the job, he added.

The prison department has already been running a ‘Prison Bazaar’ as part of its reform and rehabilitation initiatives. Items made by prisoners, including shoes, raincoats, readymade garments, handicrafts, notebooks, compost manure, bakery products, and vegetables cultivated by them are sold through the Prison Bazaar under the brand name Freedom.

The government had already accorded sanction for setting up five petrol retail outlets on the premises of Puzhal, Vellore, Coimbatore, and Palayamkottai jails and the Borstal School in Pudukkottai. These retail outlets, run by the Tamil Nadu Prison Department in association with Indian Oil Corporation, are functioning well under the brand name Freedom Filling Station.

The state government in an order dated May 2, 2022, sanctioned the setting up of six more petroleum retail outlets on the outer premises of central prisons including the Puzhal Central Prison on Ambattur Road, as well as in Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli (two outlets), Madurai and Salem.

With inputs from PTI