Products by jail inmates a hot pick

NASHIK: Festive shopping has brought good sales for the articles prepared by inmates of the Nasik Road Central Prison. The Diwali Mela organised by the jail authorities to sell the products made by the inmates has received good response since its inauguration on October 15.
The jail inmates have made shirts, trousers, carpets, riyals, flower pots, key chains, leather footwear, wooden hangers, bakery products, sarees, the Diwali 'utne' (perfumed scrub).This year, the products are being sold under the brand name 'Makaa' (Maharashtra Karagruha) written in Devnagri script.
Jail officials said that the products were labeled under the brand to provide authenticity and assure quality. The products have been priced competitively. Officials said that the objective of the Diwali Mela is not to earn profit but to create a market for the goods produced inside the jail.
Textile products like bedsheets, pillow covers, earthen lamps for Diwali, purses were more in demand and over the past one week, these articles worth Rs 1.40 lakh has been sold.
Additional senior jailer A R Gavit said most of the articles were sold on the very first day. However, they were ensuring additional production to meet the demand of the customers.
The mela will be open from 8am to 1pm and from 4pm to 8pm on all days except Sunday till October 30. The shop along Nashik Jail road will continue to operate for the rest of the year and sell products from other manufacturing units of weaving, carpentry, preparing chemicals for soaps, manufacturing phenyl and tailoring.