Birajakhetra: The inmates and staff of Jajpur sub-jail in Jajpur town had a providential escape after a major portion of the jail’s rear boundary wall collapsed in heavy rains and winds late Friday night. The 60 ft-long wall caved in while the inmates were asleep at around 2 am.
No casualties were reported, but some toilets were damaged in the incident. As a result, the inmates had difficulty in relieving themselves Saturday.
The sub-jail was constructed in 1919 and it is suspected that the wall which was constructed at that time might have collapsed due to the rains.
ADG BN Jha, Collector Ranjan Kumar Das, SP Charan Singh Meena, Sub-Collector Narayan Chandra Dhal and SDPO Prasant Kumar Malla rushed to the spot and reviewed the situation.
The Collector said the boundary wall would be reconstructed soon. Security at the jail was beefed up after the development. Armed policemen were also deployed near the collapsed boundary wall.
Sources said the newly built ring road on Baitarani River’s embankment was not in existence when the sub-jail and its boundary wall came up.
Later, to facilitate the smooth flow of vehicles and pedestrians a ring road was constructed on the right side of the river’s embankment. The ring road later became a two-lane road.
Observers said that rainwater started seeping in and must have damaged the foundation of the boundary wall after the height of the ring road was increased. The increase in the height of the road lowered the height of the boundary wall.
This had created doubts about security at the sub-jail, but the authorities never cared to look into the problem.
The jail superintendent and the works department tasked with maintenance of the sub-jail allegedly neglected maintenance of the boundary wall, and the wall finally collapsed.
PNN
