Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of 75th Independence Day, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has launched Parivartan – an initiative to train inmates in select sports – at select prisons across the country including Odisha.
IOCL Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya has launched the programme in Special Jail, Bhubaneswar and Circle Jail Cuttack along with some other jails of other States.
DIG Prisons (HQ) Subhakanta Mishra, IOCL Chief General Manager Subhajit Ghosh, Superintendent Special Jail Bhubaneswar Saroj Kumar Baral, CGM (HR) Debi Prasad Satapathy and Chess Grandmaster Padmini Rout were joined the event Parivartan – “Prison To Pride” at Special Jail, Bhubaneswar.
Under this initiative, Indian Oil, in coordination with Prisons Department of the respective State Police, will facilitate training programmes in badminton, volleyball, chess, tennis, and carrom across prisons in India to help improve the physical and mental well-being of prison inmates, especially during this pandemic period.
During the four-week-long training, the jail inmates will be coached in the basics of the sport, enabling them to participate in local competitions, besides recreation. This initiative will also boost the participants’ self-esteem and confidence.
Indian Oil will also provide the equipment and kits to the participants of the programme.
International-level sportspersons from IndianOil will steer the program. The coaches include badminton players, AbhinnShyam Gupta (Arjuna awardee), Trupti Murugunde (Commonwealth Games medalist &Dhyan Chand awardee), S Arun Vishnu (national champion); Women’s Grandmaster Padmini Rout (chess), tennis player Rushmi Chakravarthi (national champion) and renowned carrom players Ramesh Babu, S Parimala Devi and Srinivas.
“IndianOil has been leading a number of social stewardship programmes across the country. ‘Parivartan’ initiative aims to build confidence and improve the well-being of prison inmates through sports”, said the IOCL Chairman.
“The programme is in sync with IndianOil’s core value of care and will complement our ongoing initiative of employing prison inmates and people who have completed their time in prison, as customer attendants at our fuel stations,” he further elaborated.
In its first phase, along with the two Odisha jails, the Parivartan has been launched in Chanchalguda Central Jail (Hyderabad), Puzhal Central Jail (Chennai), Poojapura Central Jail (Trivandrum).
The programme aims to help inmates overcome the stigma associated with imprisonment and aid in their smooth reintegration into the society upon their release.
Currently, IndianOil employs prison inmates and people who have finished their prison term as customer attendants at 30 retail outlets in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
