Dilapidated condition of jail premises, toilets without doors in male and female blocks, no woman medical officer to examine women inmates, non-functional hospital block, poor sewage system – these are among several concerns flagged by the Goa Human Rights Commission after a recent inspection of the central jail in Colvale. A 10-member delegation of the commission visited the central jail on October 24. The delegation went to some of the cells of the undertrials and spoke to inmates about their grievances. In its report, which has been sent to the prison authorities, the delegation observed that the jail buildings and premises are in a dilapidated and “very bad condition” and in urgent need of repairs. “The toilets without doors in the male as well as the female blocks violate the human right to privacy of the inmates, and hence, this needs to be resolved on priority,” the report said. Prison authorities said they had already taken note of these concerns and were working to fix the issues. The commission also urged jail authorities to set up jammers in the jail premises to prevent the use of mobile phones by inmates, and to ensure effective functioning of CCTVs. “There is no female medical officer for examining the women inmates and there has been a request for a female or male nurse… The women undertrials complained that when they are brought for the first time by the police, they are not allowed to bring their clothes. So also, the jail administration needs to provide the undertrials adequate clothes for their use to safeguard their human dignity,” the report said. Foreign inmates complained of a “delay in forwarding their requests for visas to their embassies”, the commission said, urging officials to look into these concerns. “It was noted that there was no ISD facility to enable the foreigners to communicate with their family members. There were complaints of no proper drinking water facilities in the cells. The inmates complained of mosquito menace which can be taken care of to some extent by providing the windows with nets. There is a hospital block but it is non-functional,” the commission observed in its report. Omvir Singh, Inspector General of Prisons, said, “We have taken note of these concerns well in advance. Proposals for rectification of civil and technical works are already in the pipeline and pending with the PWD department.”
