The Hindu

Mangalore, Aug 14: The 140-year-old district prison located at Kodialbail in the heart of the city may be relocated to Kudupu, off National Highway 13 on the Mangalore-Moodbidri route. The Mangalore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has sent a proposal to the State Government in this regard and is awaiting the official consent.

N Yogish Bhat, Mangalore MLA, is pitching for the project with the State Government through B Nagaraj Shetty, district in-charge Minister. Bhat said senior officials had already inspected the site for the proposed prison complex at Kudupu. MUDA would undertake construction of the prison complex, he said.

Bhat said once the approval was received, MUDA would procure around 50 acres of land for the construction of a prison complex with a training centre for the prisoners, quarters for the jail staff and other facilities, he said.

Steps would be taken to allocate the 11-acre land on which the district prison is located to MUDA. According to him, the Centre has released Rs 5 crore under a prison modernization programme for this project.

S T Ramesh, Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons) said M P Prakash, Home Minister, was expected to take a decision on the issue.

The prison authorities here state that the district prison, built to accommodate 150 prisoners houses 201 inmates, including women under trials in a separate wing. They are, however, skeptical of the plan to shift the jail, as it will greatly inconvenience the already understaffed prisons set up.