Bengaluru: A newly launched “Nava Sankalpa Bakery” at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru is set to provide prison inmates with vocational training and opportunities to build sustainable livelihoods after their release.
Officials from the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and the District Legal Services Authority visited the newly established bakery and reviewed its activities. Senior Civil Judges P. M. Balasubramani, Ganapathi Prashanth M and Shrishali Bhimashen Bagadi, along with other dignitaries and officials, were present on the occasion.
The bakery produces a variety of freshly prepared food products, including egg puffs, vegetable puffs, buns, cakes, cookies and traditional mixtures, prepared by trained prison inmates.
The initiative aims to provide inmates with practical vocational baking skills and formal completion certificates, enabling them to seek employment or pursue livelihood opportunities after completing their sentences. The programme is also intended to support rehabilitation and self-reliance by equipping inmates with skills that can be utilised outside prison.
Officials highlighted that such vocational initiatives can play an important role in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of prisoners, helping them develop confidence, professional skills and avenues for earning a livelihood after release.
In addition to creating employment-oriented opportunities for inmates, the bakery is expected to contribute to revenue generation for the State, making the initiative a combination of skill development, rehabilitation and productive engagement within the prison system.
The visit by the legal services authorities underscored the importance of providing inmates with opportunities for skill development, legal awareness, rehabilitation and dignified reintegration into society.
