A joint mechanism to strengthen emergency response and improve inmate welfare through regional coordination has been established at Matara Prison, with the facility serving as the pilot site.
The initiative was launched on Wednesday (19) under Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, Daily Mirror reported.
The mechanism is designed to ensure a coordinated response among state institutions when an emergency occurs at a prison, while also streamlining measures to protect the welfare of inmates.
Agencies brought together
Matara Prison Superintendent H. D. K. N. Premawansa, Matara District Secretary Chandana Thilakaratne and 16th Infantry Division Commander Major General L. D. Perera attended the launch.
Senior officials from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, the Sri Lanka Air Force, the Navy, the Army, the Police, the Matara Divisional Secretariat and the Office of the Medical Officer of Health were also present.
The programme is expected to improve coordination between emergency response agencies and prison authorities during unforeseen situations.
Backdrop of unrest
The pilot follows a difficult period for Sri Lanka’s prison system. The Negombo Prison riot in July left 31 people dead and prompted scrutiny of how quickly outside agencies can be mobilised when control of a facility breaks down.
Authorities have also moved organised-crime inmates between facilities in recent months, including transfers to the Navy-administered Welisara prison, which opened in April to hold gang-linked detainees moved off Boossa.
Sri Lanka’s prisons remain heavily overcrowded, a condition repeatedly cited in official reviews as a driver of unrest and a constraint on medical and welfare provision.
