Nepalgunj prison overcrowded

Nepalgunj, July 30

A team of National Human Rights Commission led by its chairperson Anupraj Sharma today found that the Nepalgunj prison housed inmates double its capacity.

Most inmates complained of the lack of space in the prison. Despite its capacity to accommodate only 300 persons, as many as 616 inmates are kept in the prison. Of them, 62 are women, while one is an infant.

Inmates said the overcrowding has led to skirmishes almost daily, difficulty in using basic facilities, and low health and sanitation levels causing outbreaks of diseases.

Inmates also complained of the meagre daily allowances allocated to them by the government. “We receive only Rs 45 and 700 g of rice as per the age-long provision. The government has also been overlooking the issue of health and does not bother about treatment should we contract serious diseases,” said an inmate.

Upon hearing the complaints, Sharma called the inmates to put in with the commission’s regional office should they have any complaints against the state. He also prodded the government to effectively manage the prison and ensure basic rights to the inmates.

“Our job is to recommend; it’s up to government to implement them,” he said.

Jailer Shyamlal Lamichhane conceded of the problem of overcrowding in the prison but expressed his helplessness.”We’ve frequently informed the higher authorities regarding the problems we face in prison management but so far there has been hardly any solution,” he said.