Inmates in overcrowded jails suffer 'torture' during power breakdown

Inmates of Karachi prisons were crying for mercy cooped in overcrowded cells

KARACHI:

While millions of people in Karachi, Hyderabad and other towns of Sindh were left exasperated due to the power breakdown on Thursday, the inmates in overcrowded jails were in agony, officials told The Express Tribune on Friday.

The inmates of the Karachi Central Jail, District Jail Malir, Women Jail, and Youth Offender Industrial School (Juvenile Jail) were crying for mercy cooped in overcrowded cells, where only the powerful prisoners get to sit near the bars to catch a faint breeze.

Prisons department officials said they have multiple diesel powered generators, but these machines get overheated after few hours and have to be shut down.

Prolonged use of heavy generators can result in heat buildup, explosions, and other severe issues.

The prisoners' conditions deteriorated when the generators were turned off due to these risks, officials said.

The administration tried to run the generators alternatively but shutting power from one barrack to supply power to another made the prisoners angry. "At one point of the day, we were afraid that a prison riot might break out," said a Karachi Central Jail official requesting anonymity.

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Confined in overcrowded cells, sweating, with maddening sound of generator going on for hours can flip anyone’s mind, he said.

Besides, the conditions in the officers' bungalows and prison staff colony inside the jail were essentially the same. After a few hours, the officers and officials who had made arrangements for backup power sources like generators, UPS systems, and solar panels at their residences weren't working.

According to prison officials, it is essential to prioritise restoring the electricity supply in jails and exempting them from load shedding.