HYDERABAD, June 25: Inadequate toilet facilities and lack of sanitation and clean drinking water are major problems being faced by prisoners in majority of jails in the province, according to a team of senior officers of prison, home and health department.

The team visited the prisons on the directives of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry issued to prison authorities across the country to find out inmates’ problems and submit him a report.

In Naushahro Feroze district jail, the team found prevalence of hepatitis among inmates touching alarming level and in Badin jail, it noticed the inmates were being supplied raw water, which was major cause for the hepatitis, according to team officials.

A report to be sent to the CJP after the team wound up its task by visiting the last jail in Dadu on Sunday would specifically mention among many other things that Sindh government had allocated Rs1,000 million for the rehabilitation of prisons but it released only Rs300 million over the last two years.

The team comprising Additional Chief Secretary (home) Mohammad Wasim, special secretary for prisons Zafar Iqbal, Sindh secretary for health Jam Inamullah Dharejo and IG (prisons) Sindh Nusrat Mangan visited almost all big and small jails of the province to verify whether jails were overpopulated, living conditions of prisoners, status of sanitation and overall health and civic issues of jails.

The officials on the team said that inadequate toilet facilities, design defects and lack of drinking water facilities were major problems being faced by the prisoners.

“There are still colonial-era toilets in many jails…Although prison officials had cleansed toilets before the team’s visit one can easily imagine what kind of facilities prisoners have,” said an official.

The officials said that in Naushahro Feroze number of hepatitis patients was overwhelming. “Out of 392, 25 patients were suffering from hepatitis. Samples of water being provided to inmates will be analysed to check its quality. There are reports it has high arsenic content,” they said.

The officials found that doctors posted at jail hospitals were working on deputation in other districts. The deputations were, therefore, cancelled immediately and jail doctors working in other districts were repatriated, said the officials.

Jail hospitals lack necessary equipment, including stretchers, wheelchairs and ambulance and face shortage of paramedics. Almost all jails had inadequate budget for fuel, said the officials.

A jail official said that in 50 per cent of cases lavatories had been built outside of the barracks and their number had also been raised but still it had resolved only 50 per cent of the problem.

He said that design of jail buildings also added to prisoners’ woes. Release of funds in piecemeal under the rehabilitation programme was not serving any purpose, he said.