A prisoner is kept in the temporary prison to complete the quarantine period before being sent to the main prison.
The official capacity of Alibaug Prison is 82 prisoners, while it currently houses 99 prisoners.
Taking the utmost precaution to prevent the spread of the contagious coronavirus in prisons, Maharashtra prison authorities had started more than 30 temporary prisons in 23 cities across the state. Government rest houses, schools, shelters and some universities are being used for the 14-day quarantine for new prisoners before sending them to normal jails.
“This is helping us prevent the spread of the coronavirus in prisons,” said a jail official. While there is no new admission to Mumbai Arthur Road Jail, all new inmates from the city will be sent to Taloja Jail. Once they arrive in Taloja, they are kept in temporary prisons and after spending 14 days in quarantine and a medical check-up, they are transferred to normal jails.
The state prison authorities had started temporary prisons to stop the spread of Covid-19 in prisons after 158 prisoners and 28 officers from the Arthur Road Jail found positive for Covid in May this year.
All temporary prisons have adequate security and the police are deployed on and around campus.
“The purpose of keeping them in temporary jail is to find out if they are infected with Covid-19. The prisoners are also examined by doctors and transferred to the regular jail only after a medical report,” added the source.
.
