Ballia barracks flooded, inmates being evacuated

VARANASI: Over 850 prisoners of the Ballia district jail were being shifted to jails of neighbouring district due to massive waterlogging inside all the barracks following heavy downpour continuing for past three days.
Talking to TOI on Sunday, district magistrate Ballia Bhavani Singh Khangaraut said, "From five inches to one ft deep warerlogging has been reported in all barracks of the district jail.In view of the ground realities of the jail the matter was reported to the state government and prison department. We have received approval of the authorities concerned to shift 450 prisoners to Azamgarh jail. Approval for shifting more prisoners to Mau and Ambedkarnagar jails is awaited."
After getting the approval of prison department, the Ballia authorities were busy arranging adequate force to start the process of shifting prisoners from the waterlogged jail, which is heavily overcrowded against its actual capacity of lodging only 350 prisoners.
Khangaraut said that whether the shifting of prisoners will start from tonight or from Monday morning, depends on the availability of the police force.
The officials said that waterlogging inside the jail is not a new problem as the jail is very old and was constructed in a low-lying area. With the time, the height of roads increasing up to several ft and a large number of residential and other construction coming up in the area, rain water accumulating here obvious. Now, maximum water of rains drains towards the jail due to which waterlogging inside it has become an annual feature, said the officials.