HYDERABAD, Oct 17: The Sindh additional home secretary, Mr Abdul Qadir Memon, has said that district prisons in Dadu and Badin will start functioning by the end of this year , lessening overcrowding in Central and Nara prisons of the Hyderabad district.

He was speaking at a meeting presided over by Mr Justice Amir Hani Muslim of the Sindh High Court.

The additional advocate-general of Sindh, Mr Masood A. Noorani, additional registrar Ghulam Mustafa Channa, DIG prisons Nawaz Hussain, DPOs of Hyderabad, Dadu and Badin districts, superintendents of the central, Nara and district prisons of Dadu and building department officials attended the meeting.

The meeting followed visits by Mr Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani and Mr Justice Amir Hani Muslim to Central and Nara prisons where they received complaints about non-production of prisoners in courts.

The judges sought data of juvenile, women and old prisoners whose cases had not been concluded despite a lapse of three years.

Mr Memon said buildings of Dadu and Badin prisons had almost been completed and only fitting of gas pipelines was required in Dadu.

He said the recruitment of staff had also been completed. He said the Badin prison would be made functional by Nov 28 and Dadu would start its operation from Dec 20.

He said purchase of about 85 prison vans each costing Rs2 million had been recommended.

DPO A.D. Khawaja said that a shortage of vans always affected production of under trial prisoners and said three big and two small prison vans were required for the district to ensure regular production.

He said on an average 100 prisoners were produced in a day within the Hyderabad city whereas vehicles were needed for other talukas.

Dadu DPO Javed Odho said that three big and two small vans were needed in his district.

He said a lack of vans also created problems as prisoners were taken to courts of Kotri taluka, Khairpur Nathan Shah and other districts taking a lot of time.

Badin DPO Ameer Sheikh said he needed two big and small vans each for productions of UTPs.

DIG prisons Nawaz Hussain said 400 and 300 prisoners of Badin and Dadu who were lodged in Nara and central prisons of Hyderabad would be shifted to new jails which would make jail administrations' work easier.

Justice Muslim asked the home department official to undertake efforts for providing vehicles and make Dadu and Badin prisons operational as committed.

Talking to Dawn the additional home secretary termed non-production of UTPs in Sindh as a chronic problem.

He said setting up of judicial complexes in Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad, under access to justice programme of the Asian Development Bank would help overcome prisoners' non-production.

He said that 18 new prison vans were given to the Sindh police so far whereas the federal interior ministry also intended to provide vans.

He said that 150 cases of minor offences had been withdrawn in those cases where trial had not processed despite a lapse of sufficient time.

He said that 300 more such cases would also be withdrawn in due course of time and added that different organizations were being approached to ensure release of inmates detained for want of payment of fine.

He said following recent incidents of terrorism in Sindh and Punjab an elaborate security plan had been finalized during the holy month of Ramazan where special deployment would be made around the mosques at the time of Taraveh prayers. He said there was a proposal to provide scanners to policemen guarding the mosques.