To deal with any situation due to Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab Government has converted 6 Jails into Special Jails for new inmates. In addition, two more jails namely Gurdaspur and Malerkotla have been declared as Level-1 Covid Care Centres of Treatment for Covid infected inmates, Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said on Saturday.
In a statement, Randhawa said that under the ‘Mission Fateh’ campaign launched by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh against the Corona pandemic, the Jail Department is also pulling out all stops to effectively combat the pandemic. He said that six jails in Punjab have been converted into quarantine jails for new inmates. In the first phase, Barnala and Patti Jails were converted into quarantine jails.
Bathinda, Pathankot, Ludhiana and Women Cell Ludhiana have been declared as special jails. Every new prisoner is first sent to these jails where after full screening they are kept under quarantine for 14 days. After testing, the inmates are sent to Sangrur Jail where they are quarantined for another 14 days as a precaution. Then they are shifted to other jails as per their capacity if their reports come out negative.
The Jail Minister said a total of 25 jails in Punjab have a capacity of 23,500 inmates at present and there are 17,000 inmates in the jails.
He said that 11,500 prisoners have been released on parole since March following the decision of the High Powered Committee to ensure compliance of social distancing norms in the jails as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
The Punjab Government had also extended the maximum parole period from 16 weeks by amending the Act for good conduct prisoners. He said that out of 17,000 prisoners, 9000 have been tested for Covid out of which 150 have tested positive so far. These prisoners are being shifted to Gurdaspur and Malerkotla Jails for treatment where Level-1 Covid Care Centers have been established by the Jail Department.
RAKHIS TO BE RECEIVED AT OUTER GATE OF PUNJAB JAILS FROM 8:30 AM TO 5 PM ON AUGUST 3: ADGP JAILS
To facilitate people for sending Rakhis to the jail inmates on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on August 3, the Jails Department has issued detailed directions to receive the rakhis from 8.30 am to 5pm.
ADGP Jails Praveen Kumar Sinha said all the Superintendents of Jails have been directed that there would be no physical Mulakat allowed on August 3. There should be proper arrangement at the outer gate of every Jail, said the ADGP adding that At outer gate a table would be placed where Rakhis would be received.
He said that whosoever comes there to handover the Rakhi the same should be properly packed & sanitized at that place before sending it inside the Jail. He said that the packet of Rakhi must carry a slip bearing the name of the prisoner & the same should be delivered to the prisoner within an hour. Sweets are not allowed, only rakhi will be delivered to the inmates.