“We have been living in these makeshift tent for months to avoid being crushed in crammed cells due to lack of space,” said Bir Bahadur Bista, one of the inmates of the District Prison.

According to Bista, three prison cells inside the dilapidated prison building houses altogether 73 inmates including 6 women prisoners at present against their capacity to accommodate only 25. He, however, said that some of the inmates were forced to live in the homemade tents after having faced difficulties to share the crammed cells.

Moreover, the prison building, which was constructed more than 50 years ago, has not gone through any repair or maintenance so far.

Bista said that the prison cells have developed cracks on its walls and water continually leaks from the roof. Dev Bahadur Kunwar, another inmate of the prison, said that the prison cells with the inmates crammed in it are locked from outside from 6 pm to 6 am in the morning and they are only allowed

to venture outside during emergencies. “So the stinks emanating from urine and faeces defecated by the prisoners in between this period pollute the prison cells, hence adversely affecting the health of the inmates,” Kunwar said. 

Rami Sarki, who was jailed on murder charges, said that the problem they are facing is further compounded by the fact that the prison lack proper toilet facility and adequate drinking water. “We lack drinking water. We wash clothes and bathe every alternative day due to severe water shortage,” said Dev Bahadur, a prisoner, adding that the prison has only two toilets for 73 prisoners.

Jailor Subash Rawal said that the increasing number of inmates at the District Prison following the police campaign to arrest fugitives has worsened the problem. He said that the prison department has been requested to reconstruct the prison building to accommodate the increasing number of inmates, and that they have been informed that necessary process has been initiated in this regard.