Indian Oil's Chairman visits Children's Observation Centre, interacts with young inmates

New Delhi: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil, visited the Children’s Observation Centre at Umerkhadi, Mumbai and interacted with the young inmates on Monday, as part of the Company’s ‘Nayi Disha - Smile for Juvenile’ initiative. The initiative rolled out earlier this year is an offshoot of the ‘Parivartan-Prison to Pride’ that leverages the power of sports, by imparting coaching and equipment to inmates by Indian Oil sportspersons. During the interaction, the young inmates shared their experience of sports coaching and presented their paintings to the dignitaries.

Pledging Indian Oil’s commitment to the cause, Vaidya said, “The positive energy of sports can improve mental and physical health of juveniles and help in their smooth social re-integration. After the success of ‘Parivartan’ and ‘Nayi Disha’ across the country, we aim to harness this positive passion and open new horizons of opportunities for the youngsters.” Vaidya also shared ideas on generating income for the inmates by showcasing their creative skills at Indian Oil Retail Outlets (ROs). He also offered them the opportunity to serve as Customer Attendants at the ROs, after their release.

Appreciating the initiative, Krishna Prakash, Special IGP (VIP Security), Maharashtra, said, “It is a great platform that would catalyse the integration of inmates into society with dignity and respect.” Yashashree Marulkar, Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Mumbai City, Rupali Patil, Principal Magistrate, JJB, Mumbai Suburban, Rahul Kanthikar, Superintendent, Children’s Observation Centre, Umerkhadi and Indian Oil’s Sportstars were also present on the occasion.

Indian Oil’s ‘Nayi Disha’ outreach is currently benefitting over 2,500 young inmates at three Juvenile Correction Centres in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. Since its launch in 2021, Parivartan has covered 37 prisons spanning 20 states and 5 Union Territories, coaching over 1,750 inmates in phases. The impact of the campaign came to the fore when Pune’s Yerawada Prison Chess Team won the first-ever Bronze medal at the Intercontinental Chess for Freedom Online Championship for Prisoners, organised by the World Chess Federation in 2022.

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