Prisoners from Madurai central prison to clean up the government Rajaji hospital.
Madurai: For the first time in the state, the energies of life convicts in Madurai central prison have been channelised to clean up the government Rajaji hospital, the oldest and second major public health care institution in Tamil Nadu.
As directed by ADGP (prisons) J.K. Tripathy, the prison authorities handpicked 15 life convicts for cleaning the 1,574 bedded hospital which caters to the medical needs of the people of the southern districts.
A prison official said, “The 15 life convicts who have spent about eight years in prison were selected for the work based on their conduct record. They will be awarded marks for their service and it will scale up their profile and help them avail of an opportunity to get released.”
The official further said the ADGP was keen on giving the prisoners a relief from the mundane life within the four walls of the prison. “Engaging them in physical work outside the prison should be useful for them as well as the beneficiaries. Hence, we chose GRH,” he said.
While the service comes as a stress buster for the prisoners, it was received well by the hospital administration, too. “GRH receives a massive daily inflow of about 6,500 outpatients and given the poor civic sense of the visitors, keeping the hospital campus clean is a Herculean task for the staff. Hence, we find the service of the prisoners very helpful,” says a sanitary officer at the hospital.
On Saturday, the life convicts, armed with nose and mouth masks and long sticks provided by the hospital, removed the cobwebs in the outpatient block. They dusted the building for about three hours, until lunch time, after which they were escorted back to the prison by the police.
According to a prison official, the work would be carried out by the prisoners thrice a month.
( Source : dc )
Next Story
