The dilapidated prison building houses 117 inmates at present against its capacity for 30. Inmate’s leader Arjun Pandey said the building leaks when it rains. “We need to queue up the whole morning to use the restroom. We sleep on the balcony for want of space,” he said. There are three restrooms in the prison.

Meanwhile, construction of a new prison building is not likely to meet its mid-July deadline. Construction of the building that can accommodate 150 inmates was started on February 7, 2012.

“Prisoners are affected due to the delay,” Chief District Officer Bishnu Prasad Pokharel said. Jailor Chiranjivi Gautam said he urged the contractor to complete the construction work as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the District Prison in Parsa also faces similar problems as around the facility houses 1,400 inmates though it was built for 730 prisoners. The prison was built over a century ago.

Safi Ahamad, a security guard at the prison, said the prison lacks basic medicines for want of budget. “We fear the building may collapses any time,” he said. He said the drainage system of the prison has become dysfunctional, spreading foul smell around. He said the prison library lacks books while the school established inside the facility has been shut.

Jailor Dhiraj Marasini said the prison’s land is being encroached upon of late. He said as many as 70 prisoners are forced to share a prison cell and some of them are also compelled to sleep on the library building. Marasini said they are also facing a shortage of staffers.