HP prisoners can talk to families through video-conferencing

Inmates in Himachal Pradesh prisons would no longer feel detached from their loved ones as they can now communicate through video-conferencing from behind bars.
A website was launched by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in all jails of the state, making Himachal the first state in the country to introduce video-conferencing facility for prisoners.
The website of Prisons and Correctional Administration Department would provide computerised video-conferencing facility in prisons and would not only facilitate the staff, but would also provide easy access to people about inmates and welfare activities inside prisons, he said.
Singh appreciated the Prisons Department and National Informatics Centre (NIC) for introducing the technology and said the Centre has already amended CrPC enabling courts to utilise video-conferencing facility between jails and courts.

The move would also help in saving police manpower as around 2,000 policemen remain on escort duty everyday in Himachal Pradesh, he said.
"The state government has declared one barrack each in all six jails of Kanda, Nahan, Solan, Mandi, Dharamsala and Chamba as open-air jails, which allows prisoners to go out of jails after serving a stipulated term and earn their livelihood and support their families," Singh said.
Virbhadra said computers were provided to all jails in the state and data was uploaded after implementing the e-prison software.