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Inmates at the District Jail Office, Ghorahi, have requested discounts on their treatment fees. During a monitoring visit by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) on July 30, the prisoners asked for a 40% discount on treatment fees for those with low incomes, no relatives, and prisoners with no partner. Watchman Tejes Pun of the Distict Jail said that as most prisoners are in poor financial condition and have no relatives they shoul get about 40% discount on their treatment costs.

Jailer Laxman Singh Rathore said that the jail usually provides health treatments to the inmates. However, if a specialist consultation is needed, the inmates are taken to Rapti Health Science Academy and the institute do no provide proper discounts despite their efforts. The jail has been giving regular medicines such as for pressure, and diabetes for free. It would be beneficial to provide discounts on medicines for those who are financially backward and neglected. Although an initiative was launched for this purpose, it was not successful.

The inmates themselves have established a fund for the treatment of financially disadvantaged prisoners at the District Jail. Watchman Tejes Pun said that depending on the nature of the cases, they collect money from the newly arrived prisoners save it and use it in case of emergencies. The fund is collected at the rate of Rs 500 per person for those imprisoned for fraud and Rs 200 per person for theft. However, the collected amount is insufficient which is why they requested discounts on treatment for the financially disadvantaged.

District Jail Office, Ghorahi has four times more prisoners than its capacity. There are 403 prisoners in the jail with a capacity of 100 people. Additionally, the prison houses 175 inmates and 228 detainees, including seven foreigners. Jailer Rathore has urged the stakeholders to provide skills training aligned with market demands like garment-related training and so on to help inmates earn income. A team of human rights activists, including Som Nepali, Document Officer of INSEC Lumbini Province, was present during the prison monitoring.

Jaya Narayan Pun