Poor facilities for disabled and ill at Tihar jail revealed under RTI

Reply to an application filed under the RTI Act has revealed that the largest prison complex of South Asia lacks the basic facilities for the disabled and ailing.  

• More than 10,000 inmates against its capacity of nearly 6,000.
• There are insufficient numbers of wheelchairs for the disabled and even they are in a damaged state.
• There is no provision in place to assist inmates with speech, hearing and visual disabilities like ramps or slopes, special toilets, use of outside attendants etc.
• The jails have 576 prisoners with psychiatric disorders, most of which are undertrials.

Lack of facilities to suit their needs compound the hardships of jail life for disabled and ailing prisoners of Tihar jail.