HYDERABAD, Dec 2: Hyderabad Commissioner Jamal Mustafa Syed has directed the officials concerned to ensure delimitation or removal of encroachments around the central jail of Hyderabad before its expansion.

He was presiding over a meeting in the office of Jail Superintendent Shabbir Jan Sarhandi on Monday, attended by Hyderabad range DIG Akram Naeem Bharoka, Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Nawaz Sohu, Hyderabad SSP Irfan Bahadur, the commander of Rangers 52-Wing and others.

He said that considering prevailing threats, security of central prison should be reviewed in detail to counter any terrorist activity, adding that the present government was spending millions of rupees on the security of prisons in Sindh.

He said that for Hyderabad jail, Rs460.592 million had been allocated which would be utilised for building new barracks, boundary walls and the main tower. He formed a committee comprising the Hyderabad DC and SSP, jail superintendent and a works and services official to monitor the project in all respects from the security point of view.

If the project needed some amendments, those could be brought about with the approval of a competent authority, he said, adding that planning must encompass future conditions of the next 50 years. He said boundary walls should be raised by 5ft. He visited the area and asked the DC to identify new place for shifting of truck stand also.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with office bearers of Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), the DC and SP of Hyderabad informed them that Rs40 million was being spent on installation of CCTV cameras after taking the business community on board. The cameras would be installed on roads and at main commercial centres.

They said the increase in population demanded shifting of heavy transport facilities to the Tando Mohammad Khan road and the by pass.

HCCI’s senior vice president Turab Ali Khoja offered full support to officials on behalf of chamber president Goharullah and other members on Monday. He said that such consultation and coordination always played a crucial role.

Chamber’s committee on law and order chairman Abdul Qayyum Nusrat said that no political pressure should be accepted while eliminating crimes like theft, robberies and extortion.