TN prison’s boot-making unit to expand

CHENNAI: After supplying several hundred thousand boots, under the brand ‘Freedom’, to personnel in uniformed services across the State, the skilled workers at the 157-year-old boot-making unit in Vellore Central Prison for Men are engaged in crafting trendy leather shoes for civilians.

The wide range of fashionable shoes will be available in prison bazaars and police canteens across the State by mid-December this year. The department is also contemplating opening an outlet at Chennai Airport and selling the products in police canteens in neighbouring States to attract new customers for the ‘Freedom’ brand, under which the prison department has been selling all the products manufactured by the inmates of the central prisons in the State.

“We will explore all options to promote the high-quality and trendy shoes from our unit. Efforts to open an outlet at Chennai Airport are under way. If we receive a good response, we will scale up production,” said a senior official from the prison department.

The department’s effort is aimed at reviving the unit that was established in 1867. The unit has been producing boots for the men in khaki – police, prison, and fire service departments. In November 2018, the unit began manufacturing boots exclusively for female personnel. A total of 95 inmates are working in the unit that was renovated a couple of years ago to augment manufacturing capacity to 15,000 pairs per month. Each of them earns around Rs 5,000 per month and supports their families financially.

However, the Covid-19-induced lockdown and the government’s decision to provide a uniform allowance for personnel to buy boots and uniforms on their own in the open market came as a double blow to the prison boot-making industry. Hence, the department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu police to display the boots and other products in all 64 police canteens across the State.

“When compared to the price of the boots/shoes outside, our products are competitive with better quality. The same goes for the civilian shoes. The sample pieces sold out immediately. Many of the buyers are officers from our department. They are impressed with the civilian model shoes,” said the official and noted that they are likely to sell black and brown boots/shoes (uniform service) between Rs 500 and Rs 900 per pair, while the price of civilian shoes would range between Rs 1,200 and Rs 4,000, depending on the design. “The price of the products is fixed to make a decent revenue for the unit,” he said.