BHUBANESWAR: A special ward for transgender inmates will be set up at Jharpada Special Jail in Bhubaneswar.
The dedicated ward will have 10 beds with attached toilets, said DG Prisons Santosh Kumar Upadhyay, adding that this is aimed at ensuring that rights of transgenders are maintained in the jail as per the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. At present, the jail has no transgender inmates.
“If such inmates are brought to the jail, they will be housed in the special ward and not with men or women inmates”, he said.
Upadhyay informed that another ward having 10 beds will be set up in the jail for the ailing and elderly inmates. This apart, 10 high security cells will be constructed in the jail for the hardcore criminals. “Twenty high security cells are already there in the Special Jail. Hardcore criminals are lodged in the high security cells where they are isolated and can not interact with other inmates,” said Upadhyay.
Besides this, four new quarters for officers and six for warders will be constructed on the jail premises in 2021-22. The Directorate of Prisons has also planned to increase the wards in the overcrowded jails of the State.
“Under this, a new ward having a capacity of 100 beds will be set up at the Jharpada jail as part of the expansion plan,” said Upadhyay.
The government has already placed the funds and work is expected to be completed in a year.