Sindh jails to spend Rs52m on cameras, signal jammers

KARACHI:

With threats of terrorist attacks looming on prisons of Sindh, especially Karachi Central Jail, the prison department plans to spend Rs52 million on the installation of cameras and jammers across all prisons in the province.

The prison department managed to complete several of its schemes proposed last year and it plans to work on better security measures this year with the allocated budget. For fiscal year 2015-2016, it will be given Rs3.04 billion to spend. The original budget allocated for the outgoing fiscal year was Rs2.61 billion but the prison department exceeded its expenditures.

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Upholding tradition, this budget too allocated more money to non-development expenditures as compared to development projects. For the 27 jails in the province, the annual development programme (ADP) has been divided into two parts — Rs531 million for building and premises and Rs52 million for IT schemes, which includes the installation of jammers, security cameras, etc.

The development budget for prisons for 2015-2016 has seen a decrease. Last year, the ADP allocated Rs695 million for building and premises and Rs135 million for IT schemes.

Enhancing security

After the successful conversion of Karachi jail into a fortress with a bomb-proof external wall in the making, CCTV cameras installed around the vicinity, check points formed and mobile phone jammers installed, the authorities plan to continue such security measures across all jails.

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The upcoming fiscal year will see security cameras being installed in the Sukkur and Larkana jails. Since the moratorium on capital punishment has been lifted, the budget also includes an allocation to establish condemned cells inside Karachi Central Jail.

Along with carrying out construction and renovation of district jails in Sindh, the prison department has proposed the extension of the walls of the Malir district jail by next year. The construction of judicial lockups will also take place across the province, along with the construction of DIG offices.

The budget also includes a project to construct meeting rooms for conjugal visits in all central and district jails across Sindh by June 2016.

New schemes

The prison department proposed new schemes, such as the construction of a filter plant at Shaheed Benazirabad district jail. The budget also proposed security measures for the Malir jail. Money has been allocated for providing and fixing heavy grills on the doors, windows and ventilators by next June.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2015.