ABBOTTABAD, March 22: A large portion of boundary walls of the Abbottabad jail building collapsed on Wednesday due to continued rain. The building and its residential quarters were badly damaged by the October 8 earthquake and were declared ‘unsafe’ by the works department.

“The jail authorities have declared emergency and deputed special staff to the damaged site to avoid any mishaps. The security has been tightened to check escape of prisoners,” a jail official told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.

The total capacity of the Abbottabad District Jail, which was built in 1882, is 210. But it is overcrowded and presently has 342 inmates.

The Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra) has estimated the reconstruction cost of jail building and residential quarters at Rs80 million, but so far nothing has been done in this regard.