Nepal: Udayapur prison bursting at the seams

Inmates at Udayapur District Prison are facing a hard time as it houses four times more number of inmates than its capacity.

With the capacity to accommodate just 50 inmates, the prison is crammed with 203 jailbirds.

The jailbirds are forced to sleep on the passage of the prison building due to lack of space. “A room can accommodate just 30 inmates, but we are keeping 50 inmates in a room,” said jailer Kumar Khadka, adding, **“The jail administration is having a hard time due to overcrowded prison.”

Khadka said the problem would not be solved until a new building was constructed. “Our repeated pleas to the Home Ministry and agencies concerned for the construction of new building have fallen on deaf ears,” Khadka bemoaned.

The jail was constructed some 30 years ago. But for lack of repair, it is on the verge of collapse. Not only the building that houses inmates but also the one being used by security personnel is also on the verge of collapse, Khadka said.

The employees working at the jail are also facing space crunch. “We are using three rooms for 12 employees,” Khadka said. Staffers are forced to carry out their duty from outside the room.

Lack of a compound around the jail has posed security threat. Locals have encroached on some land plots belonging to the jail, according to Khadka.