KADAPA: Forest Department clearance is awaited for setting up an open jail at Kadapa, Joint Collector Kanthilal Dande said on Monday.

In his inaugural address at Prisoners' Welfare Day celebrations at Kadapa Central Prison on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, Mr. Dande said efforts were in progress to ensure the welfare of prisoners and rehabilitate them. Facilities in the Central prison, basic amenities to prisoners, training programmes, food and sanitation have improved considerably, he said.

On the directions of Human Rights Commission, the District Legal Services Authority was monitoring the conditions of prisoners and striving to expeditiously dispose of cases pertaining to undertrials, Mr. Dande said.

Complaint box

Senior Civil Judge B. Syamsunder who presided said a complaint box was put up for prisoners and their grievances were being resolved on a weekly basis. Period of imprisonment served as undertrial was being considered while convicting them, he said.

. All the rights of a citizen would be restored to prisoners on release from jail, the Judge said. All women prisoners of Rayalaseema region would be lodged in Kadapa Central Prison from January 2007 onwards, Superintendent of Central Prison Md. Munawar said. New buildings were being built with an outlay of Rs. 2.72 crores and three barracks being built with Rs. 2.65 crores, he said. Jails have now been transformed into rehabilitation centres, he said. Kadapa prison has 800 inmates.

RIMS Superintendent Bahunmathi Devi, DMHO K. Pitchi Reddy and deputy Jail Superintendent P. Vijaya Kumar also spoke.

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