Bantwal: Director-General of Police (Prisons) H.N. Satyanarayana Rao said that the process of setting up a state-of-the-art and all inclusive Central Prison at Mudipu in Banwal has commenced.

It would be the 10th Central Prison in the State, after the one in Shivamogga which is set for inauguration. The Mangaluru Central Prison, to come up on a sprawling 67.89 acre campus in Mudipu, is estimated to cost about Rs. 200 crore. The government has released Rs. 2 crore for the work and earmarked Rs. 7.5 crore for this financial year for the project.

Rao said that a few works remained, including insertion of glass panes between the cubicles separating inmates and the visitors and installation of intercom facility, before the facility is ready. All India Prisons Manual mandates that such glass panes be bullet proof, which have already been installed in the Shivamogga prison.

The prison complex would have a staff quarters block to house 270 jail staff, a library, hospital and workshops. It would have a helipad, as per the suggestion made by the Home Minister. The existing District Jail houses 410 inmates which is double the capacity.