‘Nava Sankalpa Bakery’ and ‘Bakery on Wheels’ launched at Bengaluru central prison

The ‘Nava Sankalpa Bakery’ and ‘Nava Sankalpa Bakery on Wheels’ initiatives were inaugurated at the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru, in collaboration with the HCL Foundation by the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Department Director General of Police Alok Kumar on Thursday.

The programme is aimed at generating additional revenue for the government through the sale of bakery products while helping inmates develop vocational skills and prepare for life after their release.

During the programme, Mr. Alok Kumar inspected the bakery products prepared by inmates and appreciated their taste and quality. He also interacted with the inmates and stressed the importance of quality and hygiene while preparing the products.

The department said newly sentenced inmates who complete training in bakery equipment and product preparation would be provided certificates, helping them acquire skills that could support their rehabilitation and livelihood after release.

The ‘Nava Sankalpa Bakery on Wheels’ was subsequently flagged off. The mobile bakery units will sell quality bakery products at various court complexes and bus stations across Bengaluru.

MoU signed

Meanwhile, the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services, Karnataka, and the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, signed an MoU to strengthen legal aid, prisoner welfare and prison reforms in the State.

The MoU was signed on Friday at the Prisons Headquarters in Bengaluru.

Under the agreement, NLSIU’s Criminal Justice Clinic, through its lawyers, students, and researchers, would identify elderly prisoners and inmates suffering from serious ailments and assist in facilitating their release.

The clinic will also organise legal aid camps in prisons and provide pro bono legal representation to marginalised accused persons in custody.

Another key component of the MoU is assistance to the Prisons Department in drafting a policy for the premature release of elderly and terminally ill prisoners, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s judgment in NALSA vs Union of India. NLSIU will further assist the department in research and drafting of laws and policies relating to prisons in Karnataka and support capacity-building programmes for para-social workers, convict lawyers and lawyers working in prisons.

The university will also collaborate with the department on other initiatives aimed at prison reforms. It will train and provide adequate supervision to prison staff and students involved in carrying out these activities.