PESHAWAR, May 5: The juvenile inmates at the Borstal Institute and Juvenile Jail, Faisalabad, have been living in unhygienic conditions, a press release issued by the Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child said.

It said there were 377 inmates against the capacity of only 151. Of the total inmates, 178 were convicted and 199 facing trial. Their lives were at risk for being placed in cramped and unhygienic conditions, it added.

The Sparc team visited the Borstal Institute on April 23, 2003, to witness the prison conditions and the facilities offered, it said. The inmates comprised three Afghans and 61 juveniles from the NWFP, with 60 of them convicted on charges of drug trafficking.

The society’s legal aid coordinator offered free legal aid to those in need.

Sparc said the jail lacked indoor recreational facilities besides facing severe scarcity of drinking water. Five of the inmates were being treated for tuberculosis and one was suspected to have contracted Hepatitis, it said.

It said the doctor at the hospital informed that the procedure for sending children to hospitals outside the institute was complicated.

He said three prisoners had been suffering from chicken-pox and five were afflicted with TB. He emphasized the need for testing the prisoners for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis to check the spread of the deadly diseases.

The society said that a school had been operating in the community centre for the inmates who were taught by three staff members.