In a first, Hyderabad has a petrol pump run by former women prisoners

The Telangana State Prisons Department has opened India’s first all-female petrol pump run by former prisoners in Hyderabad.

The department already has 10 petrol pumps run by male prisoners in different parts of the state, the annual turnover from which is Rs 300 crore. According to PTI, while inaugurating the pump, Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy said,

"With a view to provide employment to former women convicts, the Telangana Prisons Department selected 25 former women prisoners who were released from the Chanchalguda prison and they will be paid Rs 12,000 per month for their services at the petrol bunk."

This initiative was inspired by a petrol pump near Chanchalguda prison which is run by convicted prisoners and men who have finished their jail time.

Considering no one has ever attempted to escape, what started as an attempt at reforming male prisoners has become a model to be emulated. The pump, which also employs prisoners serving life sentences, was started in 2014. According to The Hindustan Times, K Gopal Reddy, a prisoner serving a life sentence, said,

“I simply forget that I am a prisoner and enjoy the freedom when I am at work. And when I go back into the barracks after duty hours, I take with me a nice feeling that I am able to see the outside world every day.”

Many prisoners feel working here has given them relief from an otherwise monotonous life. Located in the Saidabad area, the petrol pump is open 24 hours, with men working three shifts.

It is also one of the busiest in the city as people believe there will be no adulteration in a prison-run pump, earning it a turnover of around Rs 10 crore every month.

This model of building trust and providing convicts with a livelihood is something other states should learn from and start implementing.

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