Gaighat, May 6

With the prolonged drought taking toll on water sources, the district prison of Udayapur has been grappling with acute shortage of water.

Triyuga Small Urban Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers’ Group has been supplying water to the prison.

According to Jailer Sitaram Karki, the prison has been facing acute shortage of water for the past three weeks after the concerned water project reduced water supply.

“Though the prison needs 20,000 litres of water every day, we’ve been getting only 5,000 litres,” said Karki.

“Though the amount of water currently being supplied would suffice us earlier, it is not enough now as the number of security personnel and jailbirds has increased,” Karki added.

“The jailbirds are forced to manage with 10 to 20 litres of water per person,” said Karki.

He also regretted that the inmates were struggling to manage water for bathing, washing and toilet usage.

He, however, informed that a fire engine of Triyuga Municipality had started supplying water to the prison house since yesterday.

Meanwhile, the decades-old prison house is also struggling to cope with the a huge number of jailbirds.

Though the prison, constructed some thirty years ago, was exclusively made for male inmates, it hasbeen housing many women inmates.