Darbhanga DM, SSP hold ‘bandi darbar’

DARBHANGA: The district administration on Saturday organised a ‘Bandi Darbar’ on the Darbhanga divisional jail premises where both the district magistrate, Chandrashekhar Singh, and the SSP, Satyavir Singh, after inspecting the prison, interacted with the inmates and heard their grievances and suggestions.
The idea behind holding such a darbar was to establish direct connect between the inmates and the DM, who is the highest official at the district level and also to find out whether the prisoners had access to their rights in the jail as per the reagulations of the human rights commission.
Sources present at the darbar said the inmates complained about toilets which are not in proper condition. Water supply pipes have leakages and the drainage is chocked. Apart from this, badly leaking roof often causes water to puddle on the floor. Even the crack developed in the building during the earthquake two years back is yet to be repaired.
Loose and naked wires all around the jail are a continuous threat to the inmates. “The prisoners with no other choice, continue to put their lives in jeopardy as naked wires, dangling like the sword of Damocles, threaten to electrocute anybody,” rued the inmates while interacting with the officials.
The prison kitchen is an open place exposed to dirt and filth. Rain water often enters the kitchen and the water tank is in a dilapidated condition leading to leakage of water.
Incidentally, the prisoners were happy to interact with the DM and the SSP and other officials. “Such a darbar was never organised in the jail,” said sources quoting a prisoner serving life sentence. The DM patiently listened to their problems and directed the executive engineers of both the building construction department and the PHED, also present at the meet, to immediately start repairing the building and water supply system. He also ordered to repair the electric wires.
Talking to TOI, the DM said, according to the jail manual, “The district magistrates have to hold bandi darbars after every two months to listen to the complaints of the prisoners. I have asked the jail administration to expedite all pending work and get the new kitchen constructed at the earliest. The new kitchen will have facility to cook food for 1,000 inmates at a time.”
Funds for the kitchen has already been allotted, he added.
It may be mentioned here that the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, was re-drafted almost after a gap of 88 years. According to this manual, the prisons of the state will no longer be ‘yatna grih’(torture homes) for suspected offenders of crime. Rather, they will be treated as sudhar grih (centres to correct them) and enable them to become responsible members of the society.