Dhaka Central Jail to be relocated by June: PM

KASHIMPUR (Gazipur), Dec 23 (UNB): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the Dhaka Central Jail would be relocated to Keraniganj from Lalbagh by June next.

Inaugurating the Jail Week 2014 on Kashimpur Prison Compound Parade Field, the Prime Minister said a park would be set up on the 9-acre land of the existing Dhaka Central Jail in addition to setting up two museums for public.

"The two museums will be opened to public after the relocation of the central jail so that people can know about the jail life of the great leaders like Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and four national leaders," she added.

Hasina said her government, after assuming office in 2009, has established 'Kara Smriti Jadughar' under the National Museum at the Dhaka Central Jail in memory of Bangabandhu and four national leaders.

After the Dhaka Central Jail's relocation, she said, the government had a plan to construct a multi-storey convention centre on two acres of the land for the welfare of the Prison Division officers and employees.

"There'll be a cineplex, a swimming pool, a gymnasium and other recreational facilities, and the income from these will be used for the welfare of the officers and employees of the Prison Division," she said.

Turning to irregularities in the country's jails, the Prime Minister warned that if anyone of the prison authorities found assisting militants, terrorists and drug peddlers, he or she would face harsh punishment as her government does not want to see any indiscipline in jails.

Delivering her speech at the Special Darbar of the Prime Minister at the Kashimpur Central Jail, she a full-fledged jail training academy would be set up in Rajshahi while a jail training institute in Dhaka to ensure necessary trainings for prison officials and employees.

Hasina said her government was working hard to improve the atmosphere in the country's prisons, and achieving professional skill was a prerequisite to development of jails.

"To make that happen, training is a must," the Prime Minister said adding that no training centre had been set up in the country in the last 44 years.