Steps are being initiated to revive prison bazaars in all the nine jails in Tamil Nadu, ADGP (Prisons) C. Sylendra Babu said today.

Though for various reasons the jail bazaars, including the one at the Central Jail in Coimabtore, were closed, plans are afoot to revive them for the benefit of inmates and the public, Sylendra Babu told mediapersons.

The official, who was here to review the functioning of the prisons and also as part of a tree-planting campaign, said textile mills functioning in the prison here, had been modernised and inmates were supplying clothes for the uniform services like police and fire and rescue departments.

With 6,000 of the about 15,000 jail inmates in the State pursuing education in various disciplines, the prisons, considered to be reformatory establishments, would turn into classrooms soon, he added.

There were inmates are pursuing graduation, PG and Phd programes under Open and Distant Learning, he said, adding that an Industrial Training Institute had been opened in Tiruchirapalli jail, where civil, mechanical, instrumentation and tailoring courses were being offered. This was expected to help them eke out a living after serving their jail term.

Started in 1872, the central prison here is home for 1,720 prisoners with a separate enclosure for women. On the reported use of cell phones in the prisons, the official said that 283 devices were seized last year and 187 so far this year.

The department had procured 12 jammer to be installed in various prisons, including two here, Sylendra Babu added.