Nashik Central Jail which houses some of the most hardcore criminals is now fast turning into vegetable garden with the prisoners producing vegetables that are supplied to the prisons all over Maharashtra. The prisoners this year produced 15 tons of potatoes of high quality. The potatoes were sent to all the nine prisons in the state.

 

These potatoes with other vegetables will manage to feed more than prisoners for a year. The vegetables will ensure that prisoners and staff members eat healthy food. And it will not cost the exchequer anything. There is a vast farmland within the central jail where 40 to 50 prisoners work hard to produce vegetables. The soil is very fertile, besides plenty of water and organic manure is used to grow vegetables. The favourable climate ensured in production of 15 tones of potatoes this year. Besides the vegetables like bottle gourd, broad beans, cluster beans, tomato, lady's finger, brinjal, spinach and radish and fruits like sapota, guava and papaya are also produced and supplied to other jails. The initiative is so successful that the state prison authorities too are pleased with the prisoners and praised them for their hard work.

 

The prison has large tracts of land and we felt they could be used more effectively," say prison officials. It decided to introduce organic farming as a pilot project. Experts guide them on soil specific choices of vegetable and fruit cultivation.

 

The initiative of growing vegetables, now used by prison kitchens only, has, authorities believe, given the inmates an opportunity to learn another livelihood. "We realized this is something they could do in their own backyards. They could also go work as farmers," said the officer. Today we hear that organically farmed vegetables are three times more expensive. The prison already has cattle. the prison campus recently brought in a few cows to convert the leaf and biodegradable kitchen waste into rich manure. The prisoners also serve the cows. There is also a separate water pipeline to provide water to the farmland besides water from the well is also used for cultivation.

 

At present six types of various training programmes are going on to train the prisoners in various trades like carpet weaving, furniture making besides others. The carpets sewn here have a huge demand abroad. The quality of furniture produced here too is very high and it has a great market value.