NEW DELHI: The high-security prison being built in Narela will mimic the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands. Like the historic penal facility, it will have wings of unequal lengths radiating from a central watch tower, the entire complex shaped like the spokes of a wheel.A Delhi government official said that the prison would house dreaded criminals and terrorists. It will have a capacity to hold 250-300 criminals. The government has around 20 acres of land on which to begin construction soon with the target being to complete work in two years. The Union home ministry has chosen six states in India for the construction of such prisons, Delhi being among them. The ministry has sanctioned Rs 120 crore for the project.The government has prepared an architectural drawing for the Narela project and it resembles the counterpart in Port Blair. The design of Cellular Jail was influenced by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s idea of the Panopticon, a building with radiating wings made in such a way as to enable a single guard at a vantage central point to keep watch on all the inmates without them being able to see him. The Cellular Jail building has seven wings, at the centre of which stood a tower from where guards kept the inmates under scrutiny.The penal facility will have state-of-the-art security features. An official said, “It will have a locking system that will be automatically triggered in cases of riots or in-prison clashes. The guards will also be equipped with body cameras. The cells will be built in such a way that there is no chance of the high-risk inmates seeing or talking with each other, affecting their ability to form gangs in the prison.”In-built jammers will also impair the use of mobile phones in the jail. While security will be heightened for the prison staff and the families of inmates, the focus will be on building high walls to deter throwing in of objects like phones, drugs and other prohibited items.“The main idea of prison is reform and not punishment,” said the official. “So while there will be high security measures, the jail will also have facilities that will help reform the criminals.”There is also a likelihood that a few factories will be built on the prison complex to allow inmates to engage in productive activities like making furniture and food items, for which they can earn money.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/crime-punishment-shaped-like-spokes-of-wheels-delhis-narela-jail-to-house-worst-of-the-lot/articleshow/98398690.cms
