The Telangana state government has allocated Rs 250 crore for a new central prison for Warangal, informed the State Prisons Department on June 7. The need for new jail premises arose after the state decided to convert the existing jail infrastructure to a multi-speciality hospital. The state prison department has already transferred 80 % of the 231 inmates to other jail premises.
The Director-general of state jails, Rajiv Trivedi on Monday told media that the new jail will be built at Mamnoor fourth battalion police camp premises. Revenue department officials have also carried out a survey of the 100-acre land adjacent to the Mamoor police battalion for the jail premises. The department has also begun the process of shifting several of the industrial units that employed the inmates. The Warangal prison is now being converted into a super speciality hospital and factory units for durries and weaving, cloth dyeing, warping, wooden furniture, steel furniture, tailoring, soap and phenyl making. These units are now being moved to sub jails.
The handloom machinery is being shifted to Cherlapally jail while the steelworks unit is being moved to Karimnagar, the printing unit is being moved to Nizamabad jail. The remaining manufacturing units are being moved to the Narsampet sub-jail. The Warangal jail had two petrol pumps operated by inmates; these fuel stations will continue to operate. The prison premises will be handed over to the Health Department once the shifting of inmates and prison equipment is complete. A sum of Rs 5 crore was released to update infrastructure facilities at these sub jails.
The department has also sent a proposal to the state to grant parole for 300 prisoners based on directions from the Supreme Court. The state has also released Rs 3 crore to build additional barracks within the Cherlapally jail to handle the overcrowding. The department hopes to build the new barracks within 3 months.
The shifting of inmates to other jails across the state have however caused overcrowding, say reports. The Cherlapally jail has a maximum capacity to hold 1980 inmates now has 130 more prisoners who were transferred from the Warangal prison.
135-year-old Telangana jail emptied to construct super speciality hospital. pic.twitter.com/knnf2yn52M
— The News Minute (@thenewsminute) June 6, 2021