Odisha jails decongested by 8% in May to prevent Covid

BHUBANESWAR: The prisons in the state have been decongested by 7.79% in May in the wake of the fresh surge of Covid-19 cases. At least 816 prisoners had tested positive for Covid-19 so far this month.
Against their capacity of 19,824, the state’s 87 jails had 20,150 prisoners on May 1. It has now been brought down to 18,580 as part of the decongestion drive following a Supreme Court directive to the states.
A high-powered committee has been taking various measures to decongest the jails. “Altogether 816 inmates in 33 jails had tested positive for Covid. While 420 of the infected inmates have recovered, the others are undergoing treatment,” director general (prisons and correctional services) Santosh Upadhyay said. He added that a close watch has been kept on overcrowded jails so that the inmates can be shifted to less crowded prisons. Around 658 prisoners have been shifted from congested jails to less-crowded ones in the last few weeks after the permission of the trial courts.
“We have provided Rs 15,000 each to the subjails and Rs 25,000 each to the district and special jails in the state to purchase medicines, masks, sanitisers and gloves. The jail superintendents have been asked to ensure regular cleaning and disinfection of the wards where the inmates are kept,” Upadhyay said.
The jail superintendents have been asked to coordinate with the chief district medical officers and the subcollectors for the regular examination of the health condition of the inmates.
“We have also asked the jail superintendents to coordinate with the undertrial review committees (UTRCs) to consider the release of the inmates above 60 years of age and prisoners with co-morbidities involved in cases that warrant below seven years’ punishment on interim bail or parole,” Upadhyay said.
The prison authorities have been advised not to allow gathering of prisoners at common places like canteens and telephone booths inside the jails. The inmates are being dissuaded from consuming cold beverages as they make the virus more virulent. E-mulaqat system has been introduced to reduce the physical interaction between prisoners and their family members during the pandemic.