Prisons dept starts installing colour TV sets for jail inmates across Maharashtra

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: The Maharashtra prisons department has started installing colour television sets in jails across the state.
The department has decided to replace the black and white television sets that were installed nearly three decades ago and many of which have been lying non-functional for years.
A prisons department official said there had been instances of jail inmates repairing the black and white television sets in the absence of any provision to fix the gadgets."At present, almost all the black and white television sets are beyond repair," said the officer. Data available with the department showed that about 1,000 colour television sets have been purchased for the latest initiative. The aim is to ensure that the inmates can watch some entertainment programmes and news. The number of television sets for each jail would depend upon the number of barracks, cells and inmates.
The officer said the television sets have been purchased in three sizes and connected to dish cables, giving the inmates access to channels available free of cost. The inmates will have access to the television sets for about six to seven hours a day.
Director General (prisons) Amitabh Gupta told TOI, "Access to some sort of basic entertainment will help the inmates maintain the mental balance. The television sets will keep them occupied, and they will not need to step out of the barracks without any reason." Maharashtra has nine central prisons, 31 district prisons, 19 open prisons, one open colony and 172 sub-jails, which in total houses over 40,000 prisoners as against the intake capacity of 27,110.
Asked about the hours when inmates will be allowed to watch television, Harsul central prison superintendent Nagnath Sawant said the television sets were turned on from noon to 3pm and again from 6pm to 10pm. He said, "Access to television programmes will allow the prisoners to be aware of what all is happening outside the four walls of jail."
An official posted with Taloja prison said, "In some cases, inmates failing to follow the basic discipline are denied access to television programmes. As the inmates, specially the undertrials, do not have much to do, they cannot afford missing on the television programmes. This is eventually helping the prison administration have better control over them."