THE new central jail at Keraniganj was expected to give better facilities to the inmates, but poor planning and inefficient management of the new jail appear quite frustrating. It opened without full preparation and as a result the inmates are suffering from various problems. The shifting of the jail from the old city where it was located over the past two hundred years took place with a promise of better facilities and environment for the inmates. But The New Nation reported on Monday that inmates are suffering from basic services like acute scarcity of foods, drinking water and toilets. Prisoners are facing food crisis as gas connection is yet to be given to jail kitchen. Inadequate sewerage system is causing overflow of waste from the kitchen and toilets to further intensify the woes of the prisoners. Moreover the visitors are also facing the old practice of bribing prison staffs for visiting relatives. The venue has changed but not the practice. They are also suffering from insufficient space for meeting the inmates. The report quoted a visitor as saying that the visiting room is very small which can accommodate only 40 persons at a time. Many have to wait for hours outside to get the opportunity, which is awfully reprehensive but there is no alternative to it. The overall condition of jails in the country is not satisfactory. But concerned people had expected that the new jail built at a cost of several hundred crore taka will at least provide better facilities to avoid congestion. But the nation has apparently lost the chance. As it appears the country’s population is increasing and crimes are also increasing. So, the number of prisoners have increased manifold in recent time. Many believe that the new jail could have improved facilities like the Kashimpur jail where most facilities are comfortable to prisoners who mainly come from political background. What is highly disturbing is that the newly shifted jail is lacking many facilities, which could have been added such as more open space and better environment to prisoners. It was mainly a poor plan and probably implemented with neglect keeping in mind that prisoners don’t deserve better living conditions. There is the consideration of greed for making money from government projects.
