The Hon. Kins Nelson
Hon. Kins Nelson highlighted severe overcrowding in prisons, citing Polonnaruwa Prison holding 405 inmates against a capacity of 149 and Welikada holding 3,579 against about 1,400. He raised concerns about inadequate sanitation at Polonnaruwa New Town Prison, including sewage entering a public canal used for bathing, drinking and irrigation, and asked what steps would be taken to reduce congestion and address issues affecting both prison officers and inmates.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 My second supplementary: Polonnaruwa Prison has capacity for 149 inmates but currently holds 405. Welikada’s capacity is about 1,400 but holds 3,579. Facilities are minimal, especially in the Polonnaruwa New Town Prison; toilets are overflowing and sewage flows into the main D-2 canal used by the public for bathing, drinking and irrigation, causing health issues. I have raised this repeatedly, even in writing to the former Justice Minister, but no solution yet. Overcrowding is island-wide. What steps will you take to reduce congestion, addressing both officers’ and inmates’ issues?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 12 March 2025 ·No. 1744106534050382 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/9421
Cite as: The Hon. Kins Nelson. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 12 March 2025. No. 1744106534050382. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/9421