It was a dream come true. A dream to see our inmates participate in sports events outside the prisons. After all, it was with this objective in mind that we established the West Bengal Correctional Home Residents' Sports Club. Issue of the necessary notification for the Club by the State Government took some time due to doubts in various quarters about such a venture. But when it came through at last, we immediately sought its affiliation to the West Bengal Kabaddi Association. The chief objectives of the Sports Club are to promote sporting activities among the inmates and to provide them with opportunity for an interface with the sports world outside. Of course, as in a game of Kabaddi, there were numerous hurdles and obstacles to overcome.

The process of acquiring the affiliation with the West Bengal Kabaddi Association was difficult as it had no precedent. However, the West Bengal Kabaddi Association went out of its way to grant the affiliation. Affiliation acquired, we took a decision to participate in the 59th State Kabaddi League, 2010. We, in consultation with the West Bengal Kabaddi Association decided to arrange the first few matches of the League Tournament inside Alipore Central Correctional Home and then to gradually take the inmates out on parole for the remaining League matches.

March 6, 2010 was to be a golden letter day in the annals of jails as it was on this day that a prisoners' team first participated in a mainstream sports competition. And what a way to make a beginning! Indeed a beginning in an uncharted territory like Kabadddi itself since it was the first experiment of its kind. In the inaugural match of the 59th State Kabaddi League Tournament, the Inmates' Sports Club defeated one of the oldest Kabaddi clubs, the Calcutta Kho Kho Club by 19:16 margin in an action packed match. Being a historic occasion we invited Sri Kshiti Goswami, Hon'ble PWD Minister who also happenes to be the President of West Bengal Kabaddi Association and of course, our own Hon'ble MIC, Deptt of Correctional Administration, Sri Biswanath Chowdhury who was keen to witness such a historic moment. Our team went on to become Group Champion and is going to participate in the Super League now.

We also decided to participate in the State Kabaddi Championship, 2010 in April, 2010 in which our team went on winning one match after another to reach quarterfinals. In the Maidan Tent where the Championship was held the crowds enthusiastically supported our team all three days. The team finally lost out to a formidable Hooghly District team in the quarterfinals. But it had won the hearts of people, press & media before bowing out of the championship.

The promotion of the sporting activities in the correctional homes is going to help in many ways. First of all, it will allow the inmates a change in their routine and drab lives. The exhilarating experience of playing an outdoor sport will also provide the inmates with a much needed cathartic release from the confines of prison life, thereby improving their mental and physical health. The prisoners' mental and consequently their physical health is after all, a serious concern in all the prisons across the world. After the success of this venture, we have plans of promoting athletics as well in the correctional homes.