Intercom facility installed on Monday at Madurai Central Prison has put an end to the cacophony and inconvenience of inmates and visitors as they can now speak to each other with ease.
Explaining the features of the new facility, D. Pazhani, DIG, Prisons said the visitors’ gallery had been modified to accommodate 17 telephone counters through which both the parties can speak freely. “It is a long-felt need, now implemented on a humanitarian basis,” he said.
Each prisoner and the visitor will be permitted to speak for 10 minutes where both stand at least 2 metres apart separated by a grill and glass pane. The facility will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visitors talking over phone to inmates on the other side at Madurai Central Prison on Monday. | Photo Credit: R. ASHOK
A total of 2,125 persons - 2,000 men and 125 women - are housed in Madurai Central Prison as convicts and remand prisoners. The visitors will be allowed to speak with remand prisoners on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while convicts and detainees under Goondas Act will be able to access the facility on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Mr Pazhani added that separate time slots for advocates to meet prisoners will be introduced soon.
Visitors were still seen speaking loudly over the phones out of habit. “They are used to shouting, let alone speaking, in order to rise above the noise of the thronging crowd. But now there is no need for it since they can speak quietly with some privacy,” said a senior prison official who added that they do not record the conversation to abide by the rules of privacy.
R. Suganya of Usilampatti said she never felt this much relief before while visiting her husband. “My throat used to go dry with all the screaming and shouting. I will always leave home half-hearted, thinking whether the messages were conveyed to him or not. But this facility has given way to share personal matters in a calm and relaxed manner,” she said.
The facility has enabled the inmates to have a better and relaxed view of their children, even infants, which was a far-fetched dream before. It is also beneficial to the elderly who used to face some practical difficulties.
