Rajyotsava to herald world of alphabets for prisoners

In a novel idea, the state government will start a literacy programme for prison inmates who cannot read and write, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said Thursday.

The programme will start on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava on November 1.

“There are about 16,000 prisoners in 50 prisons of the state. We are identifying illiterates among them. One estimate is that there are 6,000 illiterate prison inmates,” Jnanendra told a news conference.

“They entered the prison with their fingerprints in the register. While going out, we want them to sign their name.”

He said officials have formulated the programme and educated prison inmates will be roped in.

“They will be paid for the lessons they do. Also, we will make use of resources under the government’s mass education programme,” Jnanendra said.

According to the minister, even undertrials spend at least 1-3 months in prison.

“We will teach till the time the inmates are in prison.”

Piracy

A joint task force comprising crime branch and cyber crime sleuths has been formed to curb piracy affecting the Kannada film industry, Jnanendra said.

“We need to protect filmmakers. The sector provides livelihood to lakhs of people. It’s a huge industry,” the minister said.

Jnanendra said the government is discussing changes to streamlining licensing for cinemas.

“We’re discussing license fee discounts. We’re also thinking of levying fees once in five years,” he said, referring to the new Karnataka Cinema Regulation (Amendment) Rules, 2021.