The jail administration is providing one extra tea to inmates in a bid to protect them from the severe cold at the Sitarganj central jail in US Nagar district of Uttarakhand, an official said.
“We are providing one extra tea in the evening to inmates to protect them from cold these days. Also, we are lighting a bonfire in front of the barracks in the jail,” said Dadhiram Maurya, jail superintendent of the Sitarganj central jail, located around 55 km from the US Nagar district headquarters.
Earlier, 552 inmates were housed in the jail; their number has risen as 88 inmates have been shifted from the Hardwar jail. “Hardwar jail was overcrowded, therefore these inmates were shifted one week ago,” an official said.
“The jail administration has been providing extra tea to the inmates in the evening for the last week. According to the jail manual, only one tea is provided to the inmates in the morning. Breakfast, lunch at 11 am and dinner in the evening are served according to the jail manual,” said the official.
As many as 100 inmates are of more than 60 years of age and around 25 inmates are patients of different diseases owing to their old age, an official said.
“Extra tea will be provided for till winter is over; as the mercury rises we will stop the extra tea to inmates. Extra blankets have also been provided to them to protect them from cold,” said Maurya.
He said the jail administration is worried about the health of elderly inmates as the post of a doctor is lying vacant. “Sick inmates are taken to either Sitarganj Hospital or Susheela Tiwari Hospital at Haldwani, 60 km away from the central jail,” he said.
