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Prison bursts at seams
RAUTAHAT, JUL 21 -
The cracks on the wall run high up to the damp ceiling. The room’s occupants hardly get a good sleep, especially during the monsoon.
The 70-year-old Rautahat District Prison needs a major fix if it wishes to keep inmates within confinement and, of course, in a humane manner.
“The walls and ceiling could give way at any time. How can we sleep well in such condition?” asks Sanjay Yadav, one of the inmates. The prisoners are also putting up with inconveniencies. The frail prison building has the capacity of holding only 65 people, but it is currently housing 103.
The prison administration has a headache as a result of the rundown state of the facility and the growing number of inmates. The jail officers fear that the convicts could breakout if the government did not take any initiative to reinforce the prison walls.
“We can do minor repairs on our own, but what we need is a complete overhaul and the government should be willing to release budget for that,” says Sheikh Alam, the prison in charge.
The prisoners and the administration say that their repeated requests to improve the condition of the jail were unheard by the authorities concerned.
Posted on: 2010-07-22 08:32
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