The Biju Patnaik Open-Air Jail in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Berhampur, Sept. 5: The sub-jails in Bhanja Nagar, Bhadrak and Boudh would shortly be upgraded to district jails, said inspector-general of prisons Shyam Sunder Hansda.

Hansda, who is also the additional director-general of Odisha police, said three model jails were also being constructed for prisoners who had already been convicted in various cases. Each jail will have provisions to lodge 500 prisoners.

The Odisha government has already acquired land for setting up a model jail at Athagarh in Cuttack district, while land is being identified in Koraput and Sundergarh for the two other model jails.

“We are also planning to build two open-air jails at Jujumura in Sambalpur and Nilagiri in Balasore with a lodging capacity of 200 prisoners in each. Construction has already started for the open-air jail at Jujumura while land has been acquired for the other such facility in Nilagiri,” Hansda said.

At present, Odisha’s only open-air prison — the Biju Patnaik Jail — is located at Jamujhari in Bhubaneswar. The authorities are also planning to establish the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Regional Correctional Services at Jamujhari.

Hansda said some 14,000 prisoners were lodged in 91 jails in Odisha. “After modernisation, we will have space to lodge 2,500 more prisoners,” he said.

“However, we are more concerned about enhancing security measures in various jails where Maoists and some dreaded criminals are lodged. We have fitted closed-circuit television cameras, mobile jammers, interceptors, metal detectors and other devices in the jails of Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Choudwar,” he said.