VELLORE: The queue for toilets begins at 2 am at the Vellore Central Prison with only three usable toilets available for each block housing 70 male prisoners, inmates told TNIE. As a result, inmates wait over two hours every morning to access the facilities.
On the one hand the prison manual says prisoners must arise at 5.30 am, on the other All India Committee on Jail Reforms recommends a toilet- prisoner ratio of 1:6. With the jail in compliance with neither, inmates wake up hours earlier just to use the toilets.
One former inmate, who was released in July, told TNIE that it was a daily ordeal for all the inmates of the prison. “When I would wake up, there would be at least 30 people in my block already waiting in line for hours to use the toilet,” he said.
According to officials, the prison, which is the second largest in Tamil Nadu, houses as many as 1,078 male inmates and has three blocks each for convicts (blocks 1, 3, and 4) and remand prisoners (blocks 5, 6 and 7). Block 2 is currently closed for repair work.
Each block has two dormitories with a capacity of 60 inmates, but, over 70 people are often lodged in each.
“We are compelled to stand in line for an hour to access the unsanitary toilets without any proper mug. I go to sleep early just to avoid the queue in the morning,” said a remand prisoner, on a condition of anonymity.
For this reason, the prisoner said, a 65-year-old inmate in his block developed severe health issues. “The elderly inmate had to go without relieving himself for long periods, which led to him developing a urinary infection. I eventually had to take him to the hospital,” he said.
Although there are 24 additional toilets outside each block, they lie in disuse.
“I lodged multiple complaints about the toilet situation during my time in the prison, but there was no response from the authorities. Repairing these 24 toilets would help ease the burden,” said another recently-released inmate.
Sources said inmates hesitate to complain over fear of reprisal. The complaint box is located next to jailer’s room and not in each block, they added.
Meanwhile, it is not just prisoners who suffer; there are no separate toilets for prison staff either, sources said. Staff are forced to use the toilets allotted to doctors and psychiatrists inside the prison.
According to the Model Prison Manual, 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs mandates that prisoners should be provided with accommodations that maintain hygienic conditions and personal cleanliness, alongside adequate clothing and necessary equipment for daily life.
‘Complaint boxes provided in three places for inmates’
The guidelines in the Model Prison Manual, 2016, stress that these provisions are essential for safeguarding dignity of all inmates. Asked about the issue, Vellore central prison superintendent A Parasuraman said there are enough toilets available for remand prisoners and convicts.
“The complaint boxes are available in three places for the inmates,” he said. “The boxes largely remain empty whenever they were taken to district magistrate for verification,” sources added