Petrol outlet proposed at Cherlapalli open air jail
Hyderabad   28-Jul-2012

Inmates at the open air jail at Cherlapalli will soon be selling petrol and diesel from a petrol bunk that is to be opened on the premises. This will be the second jail, after the one at Kadapa, to have a petrol bunk operated by convicts.

Work on setting up of the petrol bunk by the IndianOil will begin in a few days. The prisons department has already obtained all the required No Objection Certificate (NOCs) for the outlet. As the jail is an open air one, prisoners are free to move around with not even a wall to obstruct them. The prison gate, too, is open all the time.

Once operational, convicts will work at the petrol bunk in three shifts and interact with customers. After work, they are to report back at the prison barracks. Land has been allocated for the bunk at one end of the jail which is close to an industrial area.

"We would prefer to select prisoners who meet some educational requirements. After training, they will be put on the job," prison superintendent P Vijay Kumar told TOI. Each shift will be manned by 10-15 prisoners.

According to prisons department sources, IndianOil will have to pay a rent of Rs 24,000 per month as rental for the space for the petrol bunk, which the company itself has to set up. Some jail staff, however, will handle the cash at the outlet. The prisons department will get a certain percentage of the revenue generated through sales.

At present, there are 80 inmates at the open air jail. Over the coming few days, another 20 prisoners will join as the 'selection process' to depute convicts to the jail has been completed. Prisons department authorities select only those prisoners who have demonstrated good behaviour for transfer to the open air jail.