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Kathmandu Saturday November 18, 2000 Mangshir 03, 2057.
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Reform prison administration
News reports of various ailing prisons across
the country have once again triggered off tales of
woes and the stories of indifferent authorities. According to reports, thousands of
prisoners are living in pathetic conditions. Crammed into tiny rooms of dilapidated
buildings without proper food, clothes and sanitation facilities, prisoners are living in
squalor. The case is the same in every prison--be it in the capital or in Maoist-hit
Rukum. Despite pleas from social activists, the sorry state of prison conditions continues
to go unaddressed. In some extreme cases, prisoners are made to do without water and bath
for several months. In Musikot, the prisoners use buckets as makeshift toilets inside the
prison cells. The stench and the consequent illness that ensue can very well be imagined.
These deprivations have given rise to health hazards inside the prison house. In Morang
jail, contagious diseases such as influenza, cold and tuberculosis have reached alarming
proportions. Still, the jail administration has kept quiet about the need to provide
medication to sickly prisoners. In the absence of segregation measures, even healthy
prisoners are fast getting infected.
Deprivation of basic necessities is, in fact,
a gross violation of fundamental human rights. No doubt, culprits must be punished
according to the severity of their crimes. This, however, does not mean that they deserve
inhumane treatment. They are a part of society too, and cannot be neglected. It is the
duty of society to give them a chance to reform themselves and extreme retributive
measures are definitely not enough. Punishment meted out to culprits must be reformative
not retributive. Solitary confinement is itself a severe punishment, but without a
reformative approach, prisons cannot provide social justice. Our prisons houses are such
that even first time offenders can come out a hardened criminal once they step out of
prison. This must not be because it defeats the very purpose of having a prison in the
first place.
In order to make prisoners self-reliant and
responsible citizens, well-sketched programmes should be introduced for prison houses.
Literacy classes along with library facilities, recreational activities and vocational
training, among others, would engage the prisoners productively and help them reform
effectively. Obviously, this calls for a huge amount of money which the fund-starved and
overburdened prison administration cannot supply. It is, therefore, imperative that the
government, social activists and non-governmental organisations shore up their campaign to
fight for the cause of prisoners. Instead of passing the buck from one corner to the
other, social welfare council should encourage concerted efforts from various quarters.
Foreign assistance, it is to be hoped, could came as a precious relief. If the resources
are well utilized through effective channels, prisoners could surely see light at the end
of the tunnel.
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