Works are going on at a brisk pace at the Cherlapally prison

The Telangana Prisons Department is all set to adopt the system of prison visits followed in other countries and a few prisons in the country as well.

The idea is to facilitate prisoners interact with their family members through an intercom phone across toughened glass, a scene that is common in several Hollywood movies.The existing fencing that is put up at visiting (mulakath) rooms in the Cherlapally and Chanchalguda prisons for meeting prisoners will soon be replaced with separate cubicles with partitions with a 12 mm thick toughened glass screen to separate prisoners and visitors.

An intercom phone will be provided in each cubicle to enable the prisoner and his family members to interact easily.“Works are going on at a brisk pace at the Cherlapally prison, while there is some delay at Chanchalguda prison because of the shifting of administrative block,” said Prisons DIG Akula Narasimha.Sitting in the cubicle, prisoners and their family members can speak for over half-an-hour. The advantage of the new ‘mulakath’ system is clear visibility through the unbreakable toughened glass.

Narasimha said the decision to provide glass-fitted cubicles was aimed at preventing supply of food sachets, marijuana, blades, mobile phones and other articles to prisoners. Perturbed over increasing incidents of visitors supplying articles to prisoners during meetings, the Prisons Department had studied the ‘mulakath’ system at prisons in Jabalpur, Tihar, Yeruwada etc., where cubicles are provided to visitors.

On an experimental basis, the department introduced glass-fitted cubicle facility to visitors at the Warangal Central Prison a month ago. Fourteen cubicles were provided for the convenience of visitors.Warangal Central Prison Superintendent B Murali Babu said on an average, 80 visitors were availing the ‘mulakath’ facility every day.

According to Murali, visitors must assemble at the jail lounge and enrol their name by mentioning the name of prisoner with whom they want to meet. A token would be given to visitors after which they would be allowed to meet the prisoner, he added.