New Sylhet jail near completion

The construction work of the new Sylhet central jail at Badaghat, eight kilometers off the city, is continuing in full swing with the target of its completion by July this year.

Sources said 80 percent work of the project had already been completed.

The project, costing Tk 197 crore, is expected to be completed by July, 2016, said sources at the district office of Public Works Department (PWD), the agency implementing the scheme.

After completion of the work, the new prison complex will be opened for inmates' use in December this year.

PWD Executive Engineer AKM Jillur Rahman told the news agency, "A total of 60 buildings have already been constructed on the new prison compound under the project. Works of four other buildings are going on in full swing and these are expected to be completed very soon."

Jillur added the road linking to the new prison complex  had not been constructed yet as there had been created a deadlock over land acquisition.

The central jail complex is being built on 30 acres of land and the construction work started in July, 2012.

The entire project work includes construction of 64 one- and multi-storey buildings, three watch towers, a canteen, a garage, a mosque and a school building.

There will be a total of 130 flats in the buildings for accommodation of the prison officials.

Dr Abul Kashem Abdul Momen, former ambassador of Bangladesh mission in the UN, visited the construction work of the new prison complex.

After the prison work is completed, a park will be built on the land of the old prisoners.