Lessons in mental toughness, countering negativity, good social behaviour and moral values will be provided to inmates of 40 different UP jails through mental, educational, spiritual and social content as the state government has decided to set up digital libraries in these jails by the end of current fiscal.
For this purpose, these jails will be equipped with computer systems, related software, projectors and speakers to conduct common educational sessions for inmates, said senior officials of prisons administration and reform services headquarters in Lucknow.
The state prisons department had already issued a government order on Wednesday approving a ₹40 lakh budget for the purchase of computer hardware, software and online subscriptions for one year, for setting up digital libraries in prisons.
A senior government official said initially ₹one lakh each for 40 jails have been approved for setting up digital libraries. He said digital libraries could also be set up in the remaining 35 jails and sub-jails of the state in a similar manner later. He said around one lakh people on average remained lodged in these jails at a time.
PV Rama Sastry, director-general, UP prisons administration and reform services, confirmed the order regarding setting up of digital libraries in 40 UP prisons has been issued.
Sharing information about content in digital libraries, prison headquarters spokesman, Ankit Kumar, said that such content will be subscribed online that will offer programmes for relieving stress and other negative feelings among jail inmates.
He said the content related to spiritual and meditation will also be available to jail inmates as well as several good novels, biographies and autobiographies of great achievers will be made available to them through the digital libraries.
He said these online content and courses have been suitably tailored to increase energy, youthfulness, enthusiasm and eliminate negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, sadness and fear. He said these learnings will help inmates live their lives in a better manner and mingle with the open society again after completing their terms.
Besides, the online content also includes the UP Board syllabus from Class 1 and Class 12 so that prisoners willing to pursue education while serving their jail terms or lodged in jails as undertrials can do so.
Prison’s internal communication system to be strengthened
The prison administration and reform services will be equipped with 600 walkie-talkies and 75 base stations, one each for every jail, said a senior prisons official on Wednesday.
He said the prisons department has already issued a government order on Wednesday approving a budget of ₹2.7 crore for the purchase of walkie-talkies and base stations. He said a walkie talkie is a two-way radio communication system, which means that unlike a normal radio, it can both send and receive information. As the same channel is used for both functions, this means only one person can talk at a time.