TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Prisons department is set to inaugurate the first phase of the Modern Central Jail at Colvale on Saturday, which will accommodate 300 prisoners from Aguada jail, Mapusa judicial lock-up and a few inmates from Sada sub-jail.
With the commissioning of the new jail, the historic Aguada jail will no longer be used to house prisoners as its possession will revert to the government.
The Inspector General of Prisons Elvis Gomes said the work was speeded up in the last two months after Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s visit to the site and constant review of the work. Built over an area of 2,25,034 sq mts, the jail will be inaugurated by the chief minister in the presence of local MLA Kiran Kandolkar and others.
“It has all the provisions as mandated by the Supreme Court of India and National Human Rights Commission. The jail will also be rechristened as ‘Correctional Home’ keeping in line with the NHRC guidelines,” Gomes said.
The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 107.72. The first phases consist of three barracks – two of which will be used to house the prisoners, staff quarters, kitchen, administrative block, 15-bedded hospital and a dental unit. The jail will also house over 50 prisoners who are in jail in connection with narcotics cases.
