Y.S. RANA , CHANDIGARH—OCT 11— Believe it or not, Tiffin service from Chandigarh Burail jail. It is so, though not exactly of the magnitude of ‘Mumbai Tiffinwala,’ a similar-looking benchmark is proposed to introduce by the Chandigarh jail authorities in the city. If all goes as planned by the authorities, city seems set to witness ‘Mumbai Tiffinwala’ scenario and perhaps will be the first in the country to do so. Stating this to Daily Post, Mr Balbir Singh Dhol, Additional IG of Prisons-cum-Superintendent Jail, Chandigarh who had recently visited Tihar jail in New Delhi to take stock of innovative rehabilitation courses introduced there.
He says that keeping the number of students who visited the city for one or other purpose, the authorities proposed to reach out them. Being alone their major worry was arrangement of cooked meal. According to a silent survey which revealed that about 50, 000 to 60,000 students and those working as executives reside in the city and spent between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per month on meals. Chandigarh has been a hub of education in the region attracted a large number of students and efforts would be to tap this population, disclosed he.
“It will be a win-win strategy for both the Administration and inmates. The Administration is able to generate more revenue to oil various welfare and maintenance activities inside the jail and inmates will in return get training in cooking to be self-dependent later on. On the other, it would spare the short-of-time community the hassle of the daily meal grind, he said.
Mr Dhol said that the jail authorities have all the necessary cooking infrastructures. Problem was of facilitation of Taffin delivery at the door steps of customers. The jail has around 700 inmates including convicted and on trial. According to law, inmates on trial cannot be engaged in manual work. So there remained approximately 200 inmates who have been convicted. It just needed some organization that could supply tiffins outside the jail premises by keeping its margin.
He further said that the authority would chalk out the mechanism and talk to some NGO to engage in the project. The plan was at an initial stage, modalities would be worked out and a truly reflected mechanism was prepared in designing the plan, he said.
Recently, the jail has been fully computerized at a cost of Rs 2.50 lakh. “Improved system flows that are filled the gaps and ensure timless, paperless and effectiveness of service and delivery channels,” said he. It brings Administration, jail authorities and inmates together online. The system has developed prison management system. “We are also seeking assistance of some NGO or social welfare department to keep records of inmates who rehabilitated in society after completing their term in jail,” said Mr Dhol.