When the most effective way to prevent a pandemic from taking over is to maintain a safe distance from one another, places like prisons become a big reason to worry.

But when that prison is Tihar - the biggest prison complex in South Asia, the risk of the contagion affecting people increases multifold. 

Based on a suggestion made by the Supreme Court in March, Tihar has released over 2,900 prisoners who are suffering from cancer, asthma and TB amongst other diseases, on bail or parole in order to make the complex less congested. 

These prisoners are sent home for a period of 3-60 days during which they are to remain in quarantine. 

Tihar jail to release 3000 inmates to avoid overcrowding as Coronavirus cases cross 400 https://t.co/hV2uztU19G

We got in touch with Deepak Sharma, assistant jailor, Tihar, who explained the process in detail. 

âWe have been selecting prisoners to release only if they have committed soft crimes and have shown good behaviour in the past three months,â Sharma said. âIf there is a criminal who is imprisoned for a more serious crime and is suffering from a severe disease, the final say rests with the judiciaryâ. 

© Jailor Deepak Sharma

When asked about the precautionary measures that are being taken to ensure that the virus doesnât get inside the jail, he said: 

âTihar jail has always been very systematic when it comes to dealing with ad hoc situations. So, we know what to do and how to deal with the coronavirus crisis. 

âWhile older prisoners are tested constantly, we pay special attention to the new inmates we get daily. Every new prisoner, when brought to Tihar, is kept in isolation for a total of 15 days. After that, one final test is done and if the results are negative, only then does he join the other inmates.â 

SG Tushar Mehta present in Court says that in prions like Tihar Jail, attempts are being taken to prevent overcrowding and if any person is found to have any symptoms, they'll be isolated to test for COVID-19.

About bringing essentials such as grains and milk Sharma said: âEvery morning a van from Mother Dairy comes and drops the goods in front of the jailâs main gate. We then send someone from inside to collect the items and put them in store. We also take their test from time to time.â 

âWe have doctors available inside the jail premise at all times and we conduct all the COVID-19 tests in-house. We make sure to sanitize the entire place thoroughly. We have also placed machines at the main gate that sanitize the staff members while coming in and going out.â 

© Reuters

Currently, the focus is on decongesting the jail. According to a report by The Indian Express, the jail population has come down from 17,552 as on March 25 to 16,179 as on April 7 and is expected to go as low as 14,500 in a weekâs time on the basis of bails and paroles to severely ill prisoners.

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