CHENNAI: A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking orders to the state government to address the issue of unhygienic sanitary conditions in the prisons across the state and provide adequate protective gear to those inmates who clean the toilets and washrooms.
Advocate E Kishore Kumar filed the PIL. When it came up for hearing before the first bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan on Thursday, senior counsel Abudu Kumar Rajarathnam appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the current conditions in Tamil Nadu prisons raise serious concerns as they fail to meet even the most basic hygiene standards, thereby endangering the health and wellbeing of the inmates.
The bench directed him to file more details on the issue and adjourned the hearing by a week.
The petitioner stated that only one worker is employed in Salem Central Prison for handling 862 toilets; two men for 419 toilets in Vellore Central Prison, one for 300 toilets in Coimbatore Central Prison and two men for 240 toilets in Cuddalore Central Prison.
He stated that there is none in Athur District Jail in Salem as the post lies vacant and there is no such post at the Dharmapuri district jail. The prisoners in the jails of the state are forced to live under inhumane conditions which not only degrades their dignity but also severely impacts their mental and physical health over a period of time, the petitioner said.