Yoga sessions and sapling planting bring healing to Mangaluru jail
At Kodialbail sub-jail, a week of yoga for inmates ended with staff, guests and prisoners planting saplings together for Van Mahotsav.
Yoga and saplings shared the same space at the District Sub-Jail in Kodialbail, Mangaluru, where a week-long programme for inmates ended on July 5 with a joint tree-planting drive. The initiative brought together the Gender Sensitization Cell and Eco Club of Yenepoya Pharmacy College & Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), as part of International Day of Yoga observance and Van Mahotsav.
The programme was timed to the 12th International Day of Yoga, whose 2026 theme is Yoga for Healthy Ageing. In that setting, the college’s outreach moved beyond a ceremonial visit and into a correctional space where routine, reflection and self-regulation matter. The closing sapling plantation was carried out together by guests and inmates, linking the wellness work inside the jail to an environmental gesture at the end of the week.
Sumana Sharan, an advocate and Juvenile Justice Board member, said rehabilitation needs active participation in programmes such as yoga, creative arts and sports. Sharanabasappa, superintendent of the sub-jail, said yoga can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression while improving impulse control and emotional stability. Those comments framed the sessions as more than a symbolic International Day of Yoga observance, especially inside a facility that has faced inmate unrest, mobile-phone seizures and an assault complaint involving Sharanabasappa in 2025 and 2026.
Dr Mohammed Gulzar Ahmed, principal and dean, said the college’s clubs and committees translate social values such as equity, dignity and human rights into structured community support. The Gender Sensitization Cell, whose stated aim is to promote dignity, respect, gender equality and gender justice, and the Eco Club made that mandate visible in Kodialbail. Dr Prajitha Biju, the organising chairperson, welcomed the gathering, while Fathima served as organising secretary alongside committee members Mubeena, Krishna Priya and Suraksha.
The timing also sits within a wider policy frame. The Ministry of Home Affairs says prison administration is a State subject, while the Centre provides guidance and support on prison reforms, and its Model Prison Manual places rehabilitation and reformation at the centre of prison management. Against that backdrop, the yoga sessions in Mangaluru looked less like a token visit and more like a practical attempt to bring calm, structure and a small measure of dignity into a highly controlled place.
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