Currently, a total of 319 inmates are in Nepalgunj jail, which can accommodate hardly 125 prisoners. The fact that male inmates far outnumber female prisoners has also added to the problem. [break]
“As many as 32 male inmates have been forced to sleep in a single room,” says jailer Shyam Lal Lamichhane. “We could have eased the problem had the number of male and female inmates were the same.”
According to Lamichhane, all prison houses in mid and far west regions send their sick inmates to Nepalgunj for treatment. And, all of them stay in Nepalgunj jail during treatment. However, only a few of them return to their respective prison houses after recovering from illness.
“This is yet another factor that has made our jail overcrowded,” says Lamichhane. According to him, the process for transferring inmates is full of hassles. “It requires approvals of concerned jailer.”
Interestingly, some inmates have been forced to sleep in temple, school and television hall inside the jail to deal with the lack of space. Currently, some 50 prisoners are sleeping outside prison-rooms.
However, to make sure that no prisoner flees, only old, physically disabled and ill patients have been allowed to sleep outside closed-rooms.
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