PESHAWAR: Work on the construction of a high security jail in Mardan would be completed next month, costing Rs1.781 billion.

According to a press release issued by the provincial home department here on Monday, the walls of the jail would be bomb and rocket proof. Similarly, the provincial government has approved the construction of another high security jail in Swabi at the cost of Rs600 million.

Under a plan, the news release said, the provincial government was spending billions of rupees to strengthen security at jails after two jailbreaks in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu.

Under the plan, Rs1 billion would be utilised on the construction of new jail in Nowshera, while Rs500 million would be spent on the reconstruction of Dera Ismail Khan Jail.

The government had also approved construction of district jails in different cities, including Upper Dir (Rs400 million), Tank (Rs350 million), Shangla (Rs500 million), Malakand (Rs500 million), and Charsadda (Rs400 million).

The government would also allocate a huge amount of Rs1.6 billion in the coming budget for construction of sub-jails in Katlang Mardan, Banda Daud Shah in Karak, Nathia Gali in Abbottabad and Oralai in Kohistan. Similarly, for the first time a separate jail for women would be constructed in the province at the cost of Rs400 million.

The government also planned education of prisoners, besides providing them medical treatment and other facilities like installing solar energy panels and water filtration plants at jails, said the news release. — Bureau Report