5 times spike in calls made by prisoners to home from Ghaziabad, Noida jails since COVID outbreak

There has been a five-time rise in the number of average daily phone calls made by prisoners lodged in jails of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar districts since the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.

The significant increase in phone calls comes as jail authorities relaxed norms with a view to help prisoners mentally cope with the situation due to the pandemic, the officials said.

Authorities have also released a combined over 1,500 inmates either on bail or parole to avoid overcrowding in the two jails, while precautionary measures like social distancing were being practiced by others languishing in jails, they said.

The two districts adjoining Delhi in western UP have together recorded 125 COVID-19 positive cases -- 30 in Ghaziabad and 95 in Gautam Buddh Nagar -- so far, according to figures released by the state government on Saturday.

Before the situation due to coronavirus had reached alarming proportions, there would be 50 to 60 phone calls by prisoners every .