Inmates in Odisha jail can now speak with visitors from glass cabin

Inmates of Berhampur Circle Jail in Odisha’s Ganjam district can now speak face to face with their visitors, over the intercom, with just a glass barrier separating them, a senior officer said.

At least 10 such cabins were inaugurated by Director General of Prisons Santosh Upadhyay in the jail on Saturday.

After Bhubaneswar, the Circle Jail in Berhampur is the second prison to introduce this facility in Odisha.

“The state-of-the-art facilities have been implemented in a way that respects the privacy of convicts. Earlier, they had to converse with their visitors across a grilled barricade."

“We will introduce this system in all the prisons of the state in a phased manner,” Upadhyay said.

Transparency will be maintained during the meeting of the prisoners with their relatives, Senior Superintendent of Circle Jail Garib Sahu said.

A vigil will be maintained so that prisoners do not get a chance to accept items like tobacco from their relatives, Sahu said.

During his visit, Upadhyay conducted a review of the construction of a new 100-capacity jail ward.