Press Release
For jail inmates in UP, telephones are the new life lineHighest increase in the District Jails of Lucknow and Gautam Buddha NagarWomen inmates are also being given the facility
Survey included nearly 16,000 inmates of 5 jails of UP
Telephones are now the only window of communication for inmates lodged in the jails of Uttar Pradesh. Due to the existing Covid-19 threat resulting in lockdown, visitations have been stopped in all jails across India. The only way of communicating and connecting with the outside world available to inmates is through telephones and they are finding solace through this technology.
After the ban, 69 jails of Uttar Pradesh have introduced the phone call facility for inmates, free of cost. The survey selected 5 jails of Uttar Pradesh, namely Central Jail, Naini (Central Jail), Lucknow (District Jail) Agra (District Jail), Ghaziabad (District Jail) and Gautam Budhha Nagar (District Jail). All these 5 jails are representative jails of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. These are among the largest jails of UP, have women inmates and are overcrowded too. Survey included the entire prison population of these jails, a sum total of nearly 15, 790 inmates.
This survey is conducted by Vartika Nanda,the founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation, working towards prison reforms in India. The data has been provided by Uttar Pradesh Prison Department on request. This is part of an on-going research on the communication needs of inmates with special reference to Uttar Pradesh.
This survey has revealed that the number of phone calls made has increased at least three times in the post lockdown period over the pre lockdown days in all the jails. District Jails of Lucknow and Gautam Buddha Nagar have recorded the highest increase in number of phone calls per day; increasing from 7 to 325, and from 38 to 260 respectively. This included zero calls made by women in the pre lockdown period in both these jails, and 25 and 5 respectively in the post lockdown period.
The phone density in the jails ranges from 435 inmates per phone in Lucknow District Jail to 2079 inmates per phone in Naini Central Jail.
According to Shri Anand Kumar, DG, Prisons and Correctional Reforms, Uttar Pradesh, “We were active in providing telephone facilities to inmates. Our jail staff is ensuring that everyone gets the opportunity to connect with their families.”
Vartika Nanda, founder of Tinka Tinka added. “Institutionalization of telephone calls in the Indian prisons is a step forward in augmenting communication amenities for inmates and is a part of ongoing prison reforms. From the days of communication-less jails, we have transitioned to communication-friendly jails helping reformation and healing.”
Another positive development is that women inmates who were unable to make calls in the pre lockdown phase since all the telephones were installed in the male section, are now able to make use of this facility. Uttar Pradesh Prison department has installed new phones in common areas and this has come as a welcome change for the women inmates.
While inmates are happy about this change, they feel that increase in the number of phone sets would bring more relief. Due to inadequate number of telephone sets, inmates have to wait for their turn which may range from 3 to 10 days. At present, duration of each call is limited to 2-5 minutes. Evidently, the increase in phone sets would further address the communication needs of inmates better and would reduce stress and anxiety in jails. One call a day, certainly helps keep the tension away.
2 Responses
In the harsh time of corona inmates were not able to meet there family but the telephones becomes the window of communication for inmates loged in the jails also the condition of inmates were not good in our country jails were running out of there capacity and inmates have
plenty facilities which needs to be improved,
"the purpose of life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help other and that what tinka tinka and vertika mam are doing
#tinkatinka #vertikananda#tinkaprisonreforms
Vartika ma'am is working really hard to make prisoner's life more serene as they are also human beings like us. It's something unique and out of the box thinking for the prisoners. Connecting them to their relatives by phone because the family can't meet them at this crucial time is a bold move.
#tinkatinka #humanrights #vartikananda