Inmate-Made Goods Now on Sale Daily at Seshadri Road in Bengaluru

The Prisons Department has launched daily sales of crops and handmade products created by prison inmates at its headquarters on Seshadri Road in Bengaluru.

To mark the commencement of this initiative, Prisons Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) Alok Kumar visited the venue and purchased fruits, vegetables, and other products during a special sale organized at the Prisons Department headquarters.

The newly launched daily sales represent a major step in making these inmate-produced goods directly accessible to the general public. While these products are already distributed and sold through the Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS), they will now also be permanently available on a daily basis at the Seshadri Road headquarters. In addition to the stationary sales at the headquarters, officials announced that mobile vans are set to begin retail sales of these items at selected locations across the city in the coming days.

The products available for purchase are sourced from two distinct correctional facilities in the Bengaluru region. Fresh agricultural produce, which includes various fruits and vegetables, is cultivated by inmates at the open prison located near Devanahalli. At this open prison facility, inmates manage and cultivate crops across 65 acres of the campus, which spans a total of 100 acres.

Meanwhile, non-agricultural consumer goods and food products are manufactured by inmates at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. The items produced at this central prison facility include shirts, blankets, and a variety of freshly made bakery items.

Through this dual approach of daily sales at the Seshadri Road headquarters and the upcoming deployment of mobile retail vans, the department is establishing a more consistent and widespread retail network for the fruits, vegetables, clothing, and bakery products made by the inmates.