Bhubaneswar: The inmates of Jharpada Jail will get to watch a movie every Sunday on projector screen, officials of the prison said Friday. Facilities have been made within a cell of the prison, they said. Prisoners will watch patriotic, historic, mythological and moral-based films. This facility is being provided for the first time in India, superintendent DN Barik said. This is being done to decrease the stress level of the prisoners, he informed.
Awareness programmes related to health, human rights and legal aid will also be shown.
Barik also said that prisoners will be provided with a washing machine so that the inmates can clean their clothes. A 24×7 kiosk with internet facility has also been mset up for the prisoners to check their case status, added Barik.
The facilities are being provided to prisoners as part of the implementation of the ‘Odisha Model Jail Manual-2020’ said DG (Prisons) SK Upadhyay. These facilities will be extended to other prisons as well in the future.
Odisha currently has 91 prisons currently housing around 8,000 inmates.
According to the official, many prisoners die by suicide in prisons due to stress and the National Human Rights Commission has suggested that soothing music be played in jails as it may help in preventing such incidents.
PNN