The buildings, named after rivers and flowers in Bangladesh, are ready for their first batch of inmates.
Published : 08 Apr 2016, 12:58 PM
Almost 200 prison workers were seen sweeping the area outside the gate, which bore the name in massive letters – Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj.
Government high-ups were also there, making visits to make sure everything was in place before the new prison’s inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose name is already on a plaque for the opening on Apr 10.
Built on 31 acres at Dakshin Rajendrapur, it is about 12 km from the currently overcrowded Dhaka Central Jail on Old Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road.
The historic old prison was set up way back in 1788 and houses inmates three times its capacity of 2,826.
The new prison, which can keep 4, 590, will be a big relief.
Nusrat Jahan, one of its architects, spoke of the vision of a better prison.
“This is more modern than any other prison in Bangladesh. Criminals are humans, too; so, there is a genuine attempt to provide space and a nice environment,” she said.
On the right of the main compound are three buildings named after three major rivers - Padma, Jamuna and Meghna. They will house detainees along with other buildings - Karnaphuli, Karatua and Monihar.
Convicts will be put into Madhumati and Rupsha.
# Six, six-storey buildings for detainees; two similar ones for convicts. # Each storey has 40 cells, each for keeping 13 inmates. # Four cooling fans in every cell with adjoining restrooms. # Danger cells in four buildings for 400 top offenders # Sixteen special cells for VIP prisoners |
Iron bars were being fixed at Jamuna. The paint job was still unfinished, said Aftab Uddin, an elderly man among the construction workers.
VIP inmates will be housed in Champakali, which is next to Meghna, said Dhaka Central Jail Deputy Jailer Arifur Rahman.
“Young offenders will be sent off to the correctional facilities at Kashimpur prison. Those between 18 and 22 years will be in Surma.”
The ‘danger cells’ have been named after flowers - Bonoful, Bokul, Shapla and Surjomukhi. They will keep top criminals and militants facing high-profile cases. The four-storey buildings have restrooms on every floor.
The execution set-up is located near the south wall. The hanging post, facing south with a roof above, can execute two convicts at a time.
Security at a glance
An 18-feet tall boundary wall surrounds the compound.
The buildings have their own boundaries to keep the prison population separated.
Wires on top of the main wall rise another two feet with motion sensors to set off security alarm and deliver electric shock in case of a jail-break attempt.
The Karnaphuli building is to the left of the entrance and to its south is Korotoa and a little further off from there is the Monihar.
A walk straight from the entrance leads to the library. To its north is the Jalshiri building, for mentally-unstable inmates.
Next to that is a medical centre that can treat eight inmates at once, according to the jail authorities.
Near the Jalshiri building, on a vast vacant plot, the ‘case table shed’ is located. Sitting under this shed, cells are allocated to the inmates.
Arbitration for any violation of prison rules is also conducted here.
On the south-west of the shed lies Madhumati while Shurma stands on the east.
Many works in Shurma are still incomplete.
On the east of Shurma is a work shed and to the latter’s west is a flour mill.
There are four vast halls in the two-storey work shed. Deputy Jailer Arifur Rahman said it was not yet decided what type of works inmates would be asked to do there.
He said there are 16 rooms for VIP inmates in Champakali.
The swanky jail also has a salon and a laundry.
To keep a watch over all these, there are four 40-feet tall towers around the sprawling compound.
Barrack Durjoy is situated on the east-west flank of the jail where in its 96 rooms around 400 prison guards can be accommodated.
Residential area is on the western side where 17 flats of 600 sq ft each are being constructed. Apart from that, flats measuring 1250 sq ft will also be constructed for higher officials.
Deputy Jailer Arifur Rahman said only male inmates would be lodged in this jail. For the females, another jail is being constructed nearby.