SALEM: The city would soon get a petrol bunk manned by the life convicts in the central prison.
An official with the Salem Central Prison said the petrol bunk would come up on Salem-Yercaud state highway and start functioning in three months.
According to the official, inmates of the Puzhal, Coimbatore, Pudukkottai and Palayamkottai central prisons in the state are already manning petrol bunks on their jail premises. “The prison department had directed us to allot space for the bunk on the prison premises. Subsequently, space was allotted on the Salem-Yercaud state highway.”
He said they were involving the convicts in the work to set up the petrol bunk. “They will work in three shifts daily. Each of them will be paid ₹200 a day.”
The official said the life convicts were usually given work as per their talents and skills. “This helps them earn for their family while serving their sentences. Some of them are now involved in making bread, mixture and biscuit, and steel coats for government hospitals. There is also a barbershop and an ironing unit manned by the life convicts on the prison premises.”
