Women inmates lodged in the Special Prison for Women situated at present in the Central Prison complex here would soon be shifted to the modern jail which is on the verge of completion in the city.
Being constructed by the State Public Works Department on a total area of seven-and-half acres near the busy Gandhi Market here at a cost of Rs. 9.98 crore, the new prison with live wire fencing will accommodate about 500 inmates.
It will also have separate high security blocks, individual cells, a special class block, a crèche to take care of the wards of the inmates, a work shed, prison hospital besides a visitors block.
Major works
Major works inside the new prison including construction of dormitories, watch towers, admission blocks, second line and first line security walls and kitchen have all been completed. The new prison will have a separate remand, conviction and admission blocks.
The prison authorities expect the minor electrical, painting and drainage works that is underway to be completed soon.
They have written to the Corporation authorities for supply of Cauvery water for drinking purposes. Borewells have been sunk to cater to water requirements.
The authorities say they hope to shift the inmates to the new prison before October.
There are more than 200 women inmates lodged in the Special Prison for Women, Tiruchi of which 70 of them are convicts. The crèche functioning inside has 11 children all below the age of five. Besides Tiruchi, Special Prison for Women are functioning at Vellore and Puzhal near Chennai.
A senior prison official said the new jail would be equipped with closed circuit television sets and luggage scanner facility in future in a bid to strengthen security.
