Ensure better management of jails

Now the latest story to make headlines is that the inmates have not been served with fish and meat for last two months. Though prisoners are entitled as per the jail code to get these two sources of protein on a regular basis, the supply is reported to have stopped on the plea of price escalation.

The supplier had quoted prices reasonably within the limit to win the bid and had been supplying the goods as per tender specifications until the market picture changed. Why no corrective action was taken defies our understanding. It is only obvious that the prison inmates did not appreciate the diet without meat or fish and began to express their resentment.

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From the detailed report that appeared on the topic in our daily on Saturday, we come to understand that there has been some anomaly in the way the evaluation committee's recommendations with regard to price fixation have been handled by the higher authorities. We may suggest that the relevant authorities should put their heads together and find ways to overcome the situation and ensure availability of essential food items for the prison inmates. This should be done on an urgent basis to avoid any worsening of the situation. It also needs to be mentioned that there has to be a qualitative improvement in the overall management of the central jail as well as other prisons in the country. We hope the relevant authorities would give a serious consideration to this need.