PM to develop prisons as correction centres

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated the country's largest and top-security prison with modern facilities on the outskirts of the capital saying that the prisons, instead of merely using for detaining, should be made into correction centres, reports BSS.

"A prison should not be only a detain centre, rather we are giving special attention to make a prison a correction centre of the detainees," she said while inaugurating country's most modern prison namely 'Dhaka Central Jail, Keranigonj' at Rajendrapur of South Keranigonj.

"We know that sometimes many tiny thieves come out from the jail becoming a big thief after his association with large fishes in the jail. We should abandon this mentality and we want to create a different environment for them for their correction," she said.

In view of this the Prime Minister laid importance on giving training to the prisoners on different useful trades saying after the training the inmates can produce goods and items for their own use as well as for sale. Given the huge area of the prison, she said, there are immense opportunities of income generating activities in this prison area.

The Prime Minister said there should be a provision in the prison where a detainee would be allowed to earn wages for their work or have access to the profit to be earned from the sale of the goods they produce.

"The money might be deposited in their (detainees) names and they should allow sending a bulk of the money to their home as families suffer most for their arrest. A prisoner may also take the total amount of income at the time of release," she suggested.

"It would immensely help them to engage in an economic activity to start a new life, persuading him/her to not be involved in any criminal activity in future" she said adding, "we should create this opportunity for them."

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, senior secretary of the home ministry Dr Mozammel Haq Khan and Inspector General (Prison) Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin also spoke on the occasion.

On her arrival at the jail complex, a smartly turned out contingent of jail guards gave her armed salute. The Prime Minister unveiled the plaque of the new Dhaka Central Jail, Keranigonj and visited different cells of the prison.

The jail is being constructed at a cost of Taka 406-crore on about 194.41 acres of land. The whole complex will have three jails, two for males and one for females. In addition, there would have living facilities for 500 officials, guards and other employees.