CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday inspected Puzhal Central Prison and directed prison authorities to provide the inmates with opportunities for rehabilitation, education and vocational training. He stressed the importance of reading and asked officials to ensure that prisoners had access to an adequate collection of books.Vijay, accompanied by senior prison officials, inspected the three sections of the Puzhal prison complex housing undertrial prisoners, convicts and women prisoners. He inquired about the condition of inmates and the facilities available to them.He inspected the food served to prisoners, kitchens, clothing storage areas and medical facilities. He visited the facilities for male and female inmates.During his interaction with prison officials, Vijay said most prisoners had reached prison because of the circumstances they faced. He drew a distinction between an unintentional mistake and deliberate wrongdoing. He advised officials to create opportunities for inmates to reform.He asked the authorities to provide inmates with vocational training, education and activities based on their interests.The visit came after the prison department’s demand for grants was discussed in the state assembly. Govt had sanctioned additional body-worn cameras for prison personnel and introduced a new stitching allowance for prison staffers.According to prison department data, 23,608 inmates were lodged in 125 prisons across Tamil Nadu, including nine central prisons. Of them, 2,076 were illiterate, comprising 652 convicts, 1,234 undertrials and 190 detenues. The data also showed that 323 inmates had postgraduate qualifications and 1,317 had completed degree courses.Later, Vijay inspected Puzhal police station, where he sat in the inspector’s room and discussed law and order situation with police officials. West Chennai joint commissioner Disha Mittal and Kolathur deputy commissioner of police Rajesh Kannan were present during the visit.
