Prisoners to open new innings with CIMAP

THE CENTRAL Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) has decided to launch a unique rehabilitation programme for prisoners of Model Jail here.
Under the programme, the first in any UP jail, CIMAP scientists will visit the Model Jail to guide prisoners about processing, importance and uses of various aromatic and medicinal plants.

After their release, the CIMAP would help prisoners hone their entrepreneurial skills.

“Our scientists will constantly interact with prisoners even when they are serving their term and tell them all about cultivation and processing of various plants,” CIMAP director SPS Khanuja told HT on Sunday.

As a first step, the CIMAP director would visit the Model Jail on Monday to lecture prison inmates on the uses of various plants. Subsequently, a team of scientists from CIMAP, which has already established contact with Model Jail authorities and prisoners, will start visiting the jail to regularly guide the prisoners.

Senior superintendent, Model Jail, Suresh Chandra said about 60 varieties of various costly plants would be planted at the jail garden from Monday onwards. “The idea is to give the prisoners first-hand knowledge about the plants and their varied uses,” he said.

The CIMAP already runs three programmes Lehar, Sakshma and Tarang to help people. Rehabilitation of the prisoners would be carried out under the Lehar programme. Sakshma is meant for women and Tarang for students.

The CIMAP runs a similar programme for inmates of Sitarganj jail in Uttaranchal. Suresh Chandra, who had visited the Sitarganj jail to study the CIMAP programme, had requested the institute authorities to start a similar programme here.