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Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly from West Bengal among other Sportspersons to Coach Prison Inmates as a Part of Second Phase of Parivartan Initiative of IOC

International-level sportspersons from IndianOil are going to coach several prison inmates across India in multiple sporting disciplines like basketball, badminton, volleyball, chess, tennis, table tennis, kho-kho and carom to help improve their physical and mental well-being.

During the four-week-long training, over 1000 inmates in various prisons will be coached in the basics of the sport, enabling them to participate in local competitions, besides recreation. IndianOil will also provide the equipment and kits to the participants of the programme.

The fact is that IndianOil extended its Parivartan – Prison to Pride initiative, to train inmates in select sports, to 17 prisons across ten states.

The initiative was inaugurated in a physical event held at Tihar Jail in New Delhi and virtually at eight locations by Shri Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil, to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. Simultaneously, the coaching camp went underway at another eight locations.

The Parivartan initiative aims to help prison inmates build a better life, boost the participants’ self-esteem and confidence. The programme is going to help inmates overcome the stigma associated with imprisonment and aid in smooth reintegration into society upon release.

During the four-week-long training, over 1000inmates in various prisons will be coached in the basics of the sport, enabling them to participate in local competitions, besides recreation. IndianOil will also provide the equipment and kits to the participants of the programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vaidya said, “Parivartan aims to reach out to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of the society – prison inmates and add joy and health to their lives by inducting them into sports.”

Thanking the Prison Authorities from all over India for coming forward to collaborate on this special project, Shri Vaidya added, “I am confident that this program would enhance inmates’ overall physical health quotient and boost their mental health by helping them tackle depression, stress, and anxiety. Parivartan also aims to facilitate the complete social rehabilitation of the inmates by inculcating strong social values like self-esteem, autonomy and companionship.”

The participating prisons in the second phase of Parivartan are Central Jail, Tihar, Delhi; Yerawada Central Jail, Pune; Kolhapur Central Prison; Central Jail, Patiala; Lala Lajapat Rai District and Open Air Jail, Dharamshala; Central Jail, Indore; Central Jail, Bhopal; Central Jail, Ahmedabad; Central Jail, Vadodara; Adarsh Karagar, Lucknow; Central Jail, Varanasi; Naini Central Jail, Prayagraj; Central Jail, Guwahati; Central Jail, Dibrugarh, Central Jail, Dimapur.

Besides Shri Ganguly, the other international-level sportspersons from IndianOil who are going to coach the jail-inmates include, Manjusha Kanwar (former national champion), Abhinn Shyam Gupta (Arjuna awardee), badminton; Women’s Grandmasters Esha Karavade, Soumya Swaminathan, tennis player Rushmi Chakravarthi (national champion), TT Arjuna awardee Soumyadeep Roy, and renowned carom players Yogesh Pardesi, Mohd. Gufran, Kajal Kumari and  Ramesh Babu.

In its first phase, Parivartan was launched in Chanchalguda Central Jail (Hyderabad), Puzhal Central Jail (Chennai), Poojapura Central Jail (Trivandrum), Special Jail (Bhubaneshwar), and Circle Jail (Cuttack). The valediction ceremony was also organised at these locations, and participants were provided with a certificate for their successful completion of the programme.

Currently, IndianOil has employed 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.

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