Chapati, curry, jam... prisoners feed Kerala flood victims

The inmates of Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram are toiling hard to feed those staying in relief camps across Kerala, where the worst flood of the century has claimed 210 lives since August 8 and displaced over 7 lakh people.


Ever since the torrential rains started lashing the state causing massive destruction across its length and breadth, the prisoners began preparing large number of chapathis and vegetable curry for relief camp inmates and those stranded in marooned houses.


The Central Prison at Poojappura has been selling a number of food items including chapathi, vegetable and chicken curries under the brand name 'freedom' on a commercial basis for some years now.


The low-cost dishes sold through a number of counters in the capital city have many takers. According to jail authorities, an average of 40,000-50,000 chapathis were prepared for flood victims during the peak days last week. Though the work load is high, around 50 convict prisoners of the chapathi unit were working round the clock in different shifts to meet the demand, they said.


The neatly-packed chapathi and curry were handed over to the district authorities to be distributed to the relief camps. "Our food packets were used mainly for airdropping to the people stranded in roof tops and isolated building," a senior prison official told PTI.


"Besides chapati and curry, we have sent jam and packaged water also," he said adding that as the rescue mission is almost over the demand for chapathi packets is reducing now.


The Thiruvananthapuram Central Prison had sent 50,000 'jail-made' chapatis to Tamil Nadu when Chennai was flooded in torrential rains in 2015. -- PTI