FM station launched at Salem Central Prison

Maheshwar Dayal, Director General of Police (DGP) for Prisons and Correctional Services, inaugurated Prison FM station in Salem Central Prison on October 19.

Prison Superintendent (in-charge) G. Vinoth said the FM experiment was launched as a means of reducing the stress that prisoners faced when incarcerated. A building was allocated to the FM station and equipment required for running a radio channel were purchased and installed in the prison. The service would run only within the prison walls, he said.

The British built the Salem Central Prison in 1862 and the jail annex in 1934. It spreads over 113.19 acres of land and can accommodate 1,431 prisoners. As of Saturday (October 26, 2024), 1,245 prisoners, including 832 remand prisoners, 344 convicts, and 69 persons detained under the provisions of the Goondas Act, remained lodged in the central jail here.

All the 18 blocks in the prison would be fitted with a speaker. Sources said 50 prisoners had expressed their willingness to host the programmes. “Out of the 50, we selected 10 prisoners based on their good conduct, fluency in Tamil and English and book reading habits. Every day, the FM station will function for one hour from 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m., and on Sundays, the FM will function till 8.30 a.m. Every day, five prisoners will host the programmes,” Mr. Vinoth added.

He said that from 6.30 a.m. to 6.40 a.m. there would be a motivational speech; from 6.40 a.m., to 6.50 a.m., prison doctors would provide psychological tips; from 6.50 a.m. to 6.55 a.m., one motivational cinema song would be aired, and from 7 a.m. to 7.10 a.m. some general knowledge trivia would be shared. For the next 10 minutes, the RJ would provide information related to social services. The last two slots would be taken up (7.20 a.m. to 7.25 a.m.) to provide a life history of achievers and from 7.25 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. again, motivational cinema songs would be played.

On Sunday, in addition to these programmes, songs requested by prisoners, stories written by prisoners, interviews with prisoners who are going to be released and their future plans, would be played on the channel. In the future, there would be attempts to bring in achievers and local celebrities to participate in the programme as a sort of motivation for the prisoners, said Mr. Vinoth.

Published - October 26, 2024 08:42 pm IST