Madhavaram to get first ‘Freedom’ fuel bunk run by prison department in TN

“The construction for the fuel station on Grand Northern Trunk (GNT) Road is nearly complete and currently the earthing work is being done. The bunk will be inaugurated in a month or two,” said A Murugesan, DIG (Prisons). 

Four more outlets will be subsequently opened near central prisons in Vellore, Coimbatore, Palayamkottai, and Pudukottai in the first phase, while another six outlets will be opened in the second phase near Ambattur, Salem, Tiruchy, Madurai and one more Coimbatore. 

“The fuel stations will be named Freedom, which is the brand name for all the products produced by inmates in prisons,” said the DIG. Ex-convicts will be employed at the bunks to refill fuel for a monthly salary of Rs 7,000 to 10,000, while retired prison staff will be employed to take care of administrative work for a daily wage of Rs 700. Prisoners too will be made to work in the stations, but their role will be restricted, said official sources. The prison department has tied up with Indian Oil Corporation to procure fuel. 

Prison officials told DTNext that the quality of fuel and services at the Freedom bunks will be better than the existing bunks. A successful model, first adopted by Andhra Pradesh government, was first mooted in Tamil Nadu when J K Tripathy was the state’s Director General of Police. But the project was shelved citing security reasons.

However, the project was revived when C Sylendra Babu took over as the ADGP, Prisons, and the incumbent Ashutosh Shukla recently confirmed the opening of Freedom fuel stations while releasing the life-term convicts whose sentences were commuted owing to MGR centenary celebrations. Prison officials also said that plan is on the anvil to recruit ex-convicts as barbers for prisons.