Jute products made by Dum Dum correctional home inmates in demand at BIMSTEC Expo

Kolkata: A wide array of jute products made by the inmates of Dum Dum Correctional Home was in demand at the three day BIMSTEC Expo 2017 that concluded on Sunday. This is for the first time that products made by the inmates of the correctional home have featured in an international exhibition.

15 inmates of Dum Dum Correctional Home has been working tirelessly in the last few months to display their skills in making such products They had received professional training in manufacture of such products by the NGO Rakshak Foundation that has tied up with the state Correctional Administration department for imparting the six months training.

"We are trying to make our inmates skilled by teaching them new skills and upgrading their existing skills. This is mainly for two reasons; when they are in the correctional home they can be gainfully employed and used and once they go out of the correctional homes, they can be employed by people and organisations," a senior official of the Correctional Administration department said.

The products ranged from bags, purses, pen holders, cushion covers and various other jute based things." For the first time, eco friendly bags of jute made by the inmates have been sold in this exhibition. This can be an alternative to plastic bags," Chaitali Das, managing trustee of the foundation said.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. This sub-regional organisation came into being on June 6, 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.