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New Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Kannur jailbreak reveals negligence among top officials of prisons dept
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the jailbreak of Govindachamy has raised questions on the safety aspects of prisons, equally glaring is the lethargy of senior officers of the Prisons Department. Highly-placed sources said senior officials, starting from Prisons Department Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay, have been turning a blind eye towards the daily monitoring of the functioning of the prisons. As per the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Act, the Prisons DG should visit the central prisons and the high-security prison once every six months. This practice helps the DG personally take stock of the security situations inside the prisons and suggest measures to address them. However, the incumbent DG has been reluctant to visit prisons, sources said. The central prisons, open prisons, women prisons and the high-security prison have jail advisory boards that meet every six months. The norm that was keenly followed earlier was that the DGs would go the prisons to take part in the advisory board meetings so that both purposes- attending the meeting and jail visit- were served. However, in the case of the incumbent DG, he prefers attending the meetings, which are held offline, online.
New Indian Express
24-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Kottoor jumbos to feed on Napier grass grown in Nettukaltheri jail
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Nettukaltheri open prison in Thiruvananthapuram will start supplying Hybrid Napier CO5 grass to the Kottoor elephant sanctuary from next Tuesday. The memorandum of understanding in that regard was signed between the officials of the two institutions on Wednesday. According to the deal, the prison will supply 500 kg of the grass -- a cross between elephant grass and bajra grass -- daily to the elephant sanctuary that houses 16 jumbos, located 4km away. Sources said the sanctuary will pay Rs 12.50 for a kilogram of grass, which is less than what was paid to private suppliers. Currently, the grass variety is being cultivated on 12.5 acres with additional plots available if required. A prison department official told TNIE that the Nettukaltheri prison has the capacity to provide 1,000 kg of grass daily. 'If there is additional demand, we can grow more grass. We have the required infrastructure and the labour strength to go for extensive farming,' the official said. The deal will run till March 31, 2026. The Nettukaltheri prison has 474 acres at its disposal and holds immense agriculture potential which, if used, can generate decent revenue for the department. The scheme to grow Napier grass and strike a deal with the elephant sanctuary authorities was the brainchild of Prisons Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay. Sources said it is a win-win deal for both institutions.'Only tender grass can be given as fodder to the livestock reared by either inmates or outsiders. Elephants are fed the grass in its mature form. If there are no takers for the matured grass, it will simply go waste and result in a huge financial loss. On the other hand, the elephant sanctuary gets a more viable financial deal,' said a source. Napier grass is a water-intensive crop, and hence, the impact of summer on it is a concern. Offering a solution, the open prison has a check dam which the authorities felt can be used to manage the situation effectively.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
ADGPs' transfer order withdrawn
T'puram: The govt withdrew the transfer orders of ADGPs issued a couple of weeks ago following unrest among the top police officers. With this, ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, who was appointed as , will continue as ADGP of the armed forces battalion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Similarly, Balram Kumar Upadhyay, appointed as the director of KEPA, will be retained as ADGP prisons. ADGP Mahipal Yadhav, who was appointed ADGP crimes, will continue as excise commissioner. IG K Sethuraman, who was appointed director general of prisons, will continue as KEPA director. ADGP S Sreejith has been given charge of apart from the current postings. ADGP H Venkitesh will hold the additional charge of ADGP Crimes. IG Sparjan Kumar has additional charges of the posts of Inspector General of Police, Crimes II (Ernakulam) and Inspector General of Police, Crimes III (Kozhikode). IG P Prakash has been posted in the and IG A Akbar has been posted in the coastal police. tnn
