Tihar jail, now a factory

NEW DELHI: Tihar inmates may not be having the same boisterous Diwali that you normally do, but in their small way they are spreading the spirit of the festival of lights. A new pottery unit at Tihar is now hard at work producing earthen diyas and lamps for Diwali.
Not just diyas, the inmates have also caught onto the trend of kulhars (earthen cups) — a favourite with Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.And the jail authorities are also expecting a neat profit from the deal. "We are planning to produce these diyas and kulhars at a large-scale and sell them in the open market," said a Tihar official.
In fact, Tihar officials are also reportedly trying to sell the idea to the Railways that is making a switchover from plastic cups to kulhars. Tihar Jail has a full-fledged factory that produces a whole lot of products from bakery goods to furnitures and shawls to artifacts made from papier mache. "The factory has an annual turnover of Rs 4 crore. But with the kulhars being produced, we expect a rise in our earnings," the official said.
Tihar products are already sold under the brand name TJ’s. And the jail has its own retail outlet where products made by the inmates are sold. The inmates employed in the factory earn daily wages for their labour.
Although orders have been issued directing all inmates to refrain from lighting fireworks within the prison, Diwali is not going to be just another day at Tihar. "We are cooking to prepare special food for the prisoners, and cultural programmes will be held," the official informed.