Kurigram District Jail

Construction of perimeter wall stops for fund crisis

12 October 2009, 17:00 PM

Abdul Wahed, Kurigram

With cracks and slanting at places, the age-old perimeter wall of Kurigram district jail poses risk of accident and security threat as construction of the new one stopped halfway.Photo: STAR

Construction work to replace the risky perimeter wall of Kurigram district jail has remained incomplete for the last three years. Authorities are worried about security of the overcrowded jail that is also accommodating 13 JMB militants and 34 BDR men accused of mutiny. Established in 1963 on 18.89 acres of land as a sub-jail in the then Kurigram sub-division, the prison was designed for 200 inmates including 12 women, said Public Works Department (PWD) and jail sources. After Kurigram sub-division was upgraded to district in 1984, the sub-jail was renamed Kurigram district jail, but the arrangements did not change. As cracks were found in the round perimeter wall in 1998, it was marked as 'unfit' for protection. To ensure security of the jail, authorities decided to construct a 1,382-feet long and 16-feet high perimeter wall around the previous one. But after construction of only 600 feet (on south-east, south and south-west sides) of the new perimeter wall at a cost of around Tk 33 lakh in fiscal year 2006-2007, the work has remained suspended for want of fund. The jail with capacity for 200 inmates sometimes has to accommodate more than double people including convicts, accused and under-trial detainees, jail sources said. “Cracks have developed in the perimeter wall of Kurigram Jail. It has also become slanted at places. Thirteen militants including JMB leader Motin Mehedi and mutiny-accused 34 BDR men are now in this jail. Considering security matters, extra police forces have been deployed. The remaining work for constructing the new wall should be completed shortly," said Jailer-in-Charge Md Al Amin. An estimate letter was sent to the chief engineer of Rajshahi Division for completing construction of the remaining portion of the perimeter wall of Kurigram district jail, said Md Asaduzzaman, sub-assistant engineer of PWD.