The state home department has sanctioned Rs 19 lakh for increasing the height of the boundary wall of Ghaghidih Central Jail, located on the outskirts of Jamshedpur, for security reasons.

Though the main jail building is guarded by a 15-feet-tall wall, the campus - which also houses an administrative building, staff quarters and parking lots - needs protection from public view due to security considerations.

The building construction department of PWD will shortly issue a tender for the project, raising the height of the wall from the existing seven feet to 11 feet.

According to jailer Mohammed Nasim, the wall was considered high enough when the jail compound, spread over 13 acres, was constructed way back in 2006. However, the height of Karandih-Ghaghidih Road, which passes by the central jail, has increased by around 1.5 feet due to laying of new bitumen layers on many occasions over the years, providing passers-by a peep inside the campus.

"The jail is a high security zone and it is necessary to hide all activities inside the central campus from public view. But, commuters negotiating Karandih-Ghaghidih Road can easily see what is happening inside the premises," the jailer added.

Thus, Nasim revealed, the jail authorities had in January sent a proposal to the home department for raising the altitude of the peripheral wall of the jail, which houses over 1,450 prisoners including several hardcore criminals and Naxalites.

"We have been informed that the home department has approved the project and sanctioned Rs 19 lakh for the work to be executed by PWD, which will start the tender process soon. Once the wall goes up by an extra 4 feet, it will stay protected from the view of commuters or outsiders," Nasim said, adding the wall would be topped with barbed wire.

Another senior officer at Ghaghidih said the lack of adequate security personnel to man the jail also prompted the authorities to lay stress on increasing the wall's height.

"There are only 11 trained jail guards, including three women staff, in addition to 65 ex-servicemen and home guard personnel hired to fill up the vacancies. So, we are forced to manage with only 76 as against a sanctioned strength of 212. The home department is trying to recruit more guards for all jails, including the one in Ghaghidih. But it will take time. Jammers here can block 2G mobile phones, not 3G or 4G phones. Considering these security gaps, raising the wall height is a start," he added.