Brig General A.K.M. Mostofa Kamal Pasha, Inspector General of Prisons, was present at the inauguration Monday as chief guest. Additional Inspector General of Prisons Colonel Md. Abrar Hossain, DIG Prison (Dhaka Division) Tipu Sultan, Operations Director, GIZ Bangladesh Rule of Law Program Director Tahera Yasmin, and Iqbal Masud, Director, Health Sector of DAM, were present at the event as special guests.

“The training for the prison personnel to treat, manage and cure drug addiction among the imprisoned ones is an appreciable and necessary initiative. To continue such beneficial work, we will introduce advanced courses on the topic,” Brig General A.K.M. Mostofa Kamal Pasha said, emphasizing the importance of the training.

“Prisons are now turning into correction centers. Many trades and vocational trainings have been going on inside the prisons, so that the prisoners can be reintegrated socially with economical solvency after their release,” he further said at the event.

A study says that more than 35% of the prisoners in Bangladesh are involved with drug-related crimes. Some of them are drug-dependent themselves, and some are engaged with trafficking and drug trade. The lack of specific treatment had been a major issue in such conditions, among the drug-addicted prisoners inside the prison.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission has been implementing Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP) project for treatment and rehabilitation of drug-dependent prisoners, with the collaboration with Ministry of Home Affairs and Prison Authority since 2014. German organization GIZ has been assisting in the training through the project from the very beginning.