<p>In the last one year, the suicide rate at Ghaziabad’s Dasna Jail has gone down <br />to zero per cent and quarrel among the inmates have reduced by 75 to 80 per cent. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to the jail authorities, the prisoners are engrossed in books so much these days that it leaves them with little time to indulge in anything else.<br /><br />The inmates at Uttar Pradesh’s biggest jail are making most of the library set up by the students and staff of Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, last year in March. Some inmates have read more than 400 books in the last one year.<br />Before establishing the library in the jail which has about 4500 prisoners, the <br />students in January last year did a survey in the jail to know what kinds of books the <br />inmates want to read.<br /><br />Rishi Tiwari, the librarian and core member of the student committee of BIMTECH says, “We collected a sample of about 280 inmates. A majority of them demanded <br />Hindi novels by good writers. Some 20 to 25 per cent inmates wanted books on general knowledge, competitive exams, law and religion. We purchased 3400 books on these issues, two computers and set up the library in March last year. With the help of 10-12 inmates, the library is functioning very well now.”<br /><br />Since the prisoners are not allowed to move out of their barracks due to security reasons, the inmates get the books of their choice through a systematic process introduced by the students. They prepared catalogues that has details of the books available in the library. Inmates involved in the functioning of the library leave these catalogues along with blank slips in all barracks in morning. The prisoners write down the name and number of the books they want to read. The same evening, the books are issued to them.<br /><br />“On a daily basis, there is an issue and return of 200 to 250 books. Usually these many books are not issued and returned in a day even at a university. Every few months, we have an interaction with jail authorities and inmates to take the feedback,” says <br />Dr Rishi.<br /><br />“Two of the top five users are convicted of murder and they told me that they have read 400 to 450 books so far. We got this confirmed from their fellow inmates. They not only read but also discuss the books with others,” he adds.<br /><br />According to Viresh Raj Sharma, superintendent of Dasna Jail, it appears as if a library was what prisoners were waiting for. “Every year there three to four prisoners committed suicide. Ever since the library has been set up, there has been none. The number of quarrels between the inmates has also gone down by 70 to 80 per cent. Their focus has shifted so positively,” he says.<br /><br />Recently, the students of BIMTECH also set up a movie library at the prison for those who cannot read or are interested in the audio visual medium. “We have donated 200 DVDs of Hindi films from the beginning that either convey a message or are informative. We have also given a DVD player, a projector and a screen. The first movie screened was V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath which is based on a jailor’s life,” says Gaurav Muteja, a student who actively participated in the project.<br /><br />The team of the college is all set to establish a book and movie library in Lucknow <br />District Jail now. <br /></p>
<p>In the last one year, the suicide rate at Ghaziabad’s Dasna Jail has gone down <br />to zero per cent and quarrel among the inmates have reduced by 75 to 80 per cent. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to the jail authorities, the prisoners are engrossed in books so much these days that it leaves them with little time to indulge in anything else.<br /><br />The inmates at Uttar Pradesh’s biggest jail are making most of the library set up by the students and staff of Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, last year in March. Some inmates have read more than 400 books in the last one year.<br />Before establishing the library in the jail which has about 4500 prisoners, the <br />students in January last year did a survey in the jail to know what kinds of books the <br />inmates want to read.<br /><br />Rishi Tiwari, the librarian and core member of the student committee of BIMTECH says, “We collected a sample of about 280 inmates. A majority of them demanded <br />Hindi novels by good writers. Some 20 to 25 per cent inmates wanted books on general knowledge, competitive exams, law and religion. We purchased 3400 books on these issues, two computers and set up the library in March last year. With the help of 10-12 inmates, the library is functioning very well now.”<br /><br />Since the prisoners are not allowed to move out of their barracks due to security reasons, the inmates get the books of their choice through a systematic process introduced by the students. They prepared catalogues that has details of the books available in the library. Inmates involved in the functioning of the library leave these catalogues along with blank slips in all barracks in morning. The prisoners write down the name and number of the books they want to read. The same evening, the books are issued to them.<br /><br />“On a daily basis, there is an issue and return of 200 to 250 books. Usually these many books are not issued and returned in a day even at a university. Every few months, we have an interaction with jail authorities and inmates to take the feedback,” says <br />Dr Rishi.<br /><br />“Two of the top five users are convicted of murder and they told me that they have read 400 to 450 books so far. We got this confirmed from their fellow inmates. They not only read but also discuss the books with others,” he adds.<br /><br />According to Viresh Raj Sharma, superintendent of Dasna Jail, it appears as if a library was what prisoners were waiting for. “Every year there three to four prisoners committed suicide. Ever since the library has been set up, there has been none. The number of quarrels between the inmates has also gone down by 70 to 80 per cent. Their focus has shifted so positively,” he says.<br /><br />Recently, the students of BIMTECH also set up a movie library at the prison for those who cannot read or are interested in the audio visual medium. “We have donated 200 DVDs of Hindi films from the beginning that either convey a message or are informative. We have also given a DVD player, a projector and a screen. The first movie screened was V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath which is based on a jailor’s life,” says Gaurav Muteja, a student who actively participated in the project.<br /><br />The team of the college is all set to establish a book and movie library in Lucknow <br />District Jail now. <br /></p>
