The National Human Rights Commission has demanded an explanation from the chief district officer and the administration of the jail in Bardiya after reports that 85 prisoners were obliged to drink water contaminated with excess levels of arsenic. The Commission accused the administration of playing with the inmates' health and called on it to provide a safe supply of water without delay. The administration responded by blaming problems with a pipeline provided by the Nepal Water Supply Corporation.

In Khandbari prison, inmates and staff suffered diarrhoea and dysentery due to a lack of safe drinking water and inadequate waste management. Five of the prisoners were reported to be in a serious condition.

Inmates at Kanchanpur prison should be able to avoid the same fate. They now have access to clean drinking water at all times, after the International Red Cross installed a 5,000-litre water tank.

Related news: Water, sanitation, hygiene and habitat in prisons, Source, 4 Nov 2005

Web site:ICRC / Health in Prison

Source: Naya Patrika / NGO Forum, 12 Aug 2008; NGO Forum, 15 Aug 2008; Gorkhapatra / NGO Forum, 15 Aug 2008

Tags: solid waste management, south asia, water quality, water-related diseases