(ANS – Krishnanagar) – On Tuesday 4 September, the Salesian Office for Prison Ministry in the Province of India Calcutta opened its third Vocational Training Centre for prisoners. The site of the new centre is the Krishnanagar Prison in West Bengal.
The centre was opened by Mr Ramvir Kumar IPS, Inspector General of Correctional Services and blessed by Bishop Joseph Gomes SDB of Krishnagar. Various priests and sisters took part in the ceremony.
The centre provides four courses, for computer skills, domestic and car electricians, tailoring and welding. In future it is intended to introduce other courses through collaboration with “Don Bosco Tech”.
The opening of the centre is due to the determination of the staff, of the inmates and of the Salesian Prison Ministry who all did more than could be asked of them: the prisoners worked day and night so that the centre could open, while the Superintendant Mr Nazurul Islam, personally contributed to covering expenses when the need arose.
The Salesian school in Krishnagar, under the management of Fr T.L. Francis and Fr Manuel Kariapuram Mani and directed by Fr Kayyalackal Thomas have taken a lively interest in the project and guaranteed its future.
The Salesian Office for Prison Ministry in Calcutta opened its first vocational training centre inside a prison in 1998 as a pilot scheme. That was in the Berhampore Central Prison which houses over 2000 prisoners. The next was at the Midnapore Central Prison with 1300 inmates, and now there is a third.
Mr Sankar Chakravorty, the Minister responsible for Prisons and Mr Kumar have asked the Salesians to open e similar centre in the Jalpaiguri central prison. Fr Scaria Nedumattam is assessing the situation.
Published 11/09/2012