Lucknow, Aug 28 (PTI) For most families, Raksha Bandhan is a celebration at home.
However, the festival took a different form in Uttar Pradesh’s jails on Friday, as hundreds of women and children queued up under tight security to tie rakhis to their incarcerated brothers, while some inmates were able to observe the tradition with special arrangements made by the prison authorities.
At the Sultanpur district jail, 478 women and 103 children reached the prison to tie rakhis to 307 male inmates, Jail Superintendent Pranjal Arvind said.
The visitors waited in long queues before meeting their brothers. For some, the occasion was emotional.
“I brought rakhi and sweets for my brother, and prayed for his early release,” Neetu, a resident of Bhetaura, said.
Rupa, who came from Dostpur, said, “It was painful to see him (her brother) in jail, but I hope he would be released soon.” “I never imagined that I would have to come to a jail to tie rakhi on my brother,” Lalita from Mishrauli said.
The programme was held from 9 am to 4 pm. The jail administration provided rakhis to women who did not have them, and made arrangements for drinking water and biscuits.
In Etah, around 800 women and 123 children reached the district jail by 3 pm to meet their jailed brothers, prison officials said.
Jail Superintendent Ankekshita Srivastava said arrangements had been made in advance to ensure that the visitors faced no inconvenience. Barricades were put up outside the prison, and the visitors were allowed entry in queues, with police and jail personnel managing the crowd.
The atmosphere was emotional as sisters tied rakhis and wished their brothers a long life and a better future.
At Jalaun’s district jail in Orai, 348 women and 130 children visited 229 male inmates, while brothers of 28 women prisoners also came to meet them, Jail Superintendent Prashant Maurya said.
The administration arranged a waterproof tent to shield the visitors from rain and made arrangements for sweets, ‘roli’ and sandalwood paste.
Those prisoners whose sisters could not visit were also able to observe the festival, with members from the Brahma Kumaris organisation invited to tie rakhis on them, officials said.
The jail presently houses 630 inmates, including convicts and undertrials, Maurya said.
Away from the prison setting, five widowed women from Vrindavan and Varanasi travelled to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi and tied rakhis on him, according to Sulabh International, a non-profit social organisation.
The women also presented 1,100 rakhis they had made for the prime minister at their shelters in Vrindavan.
Sulabh International spokesperson Madan Jha said the organisation, as in previous years, facilitated the women in making the rakhis and presenting them to Modi.
The five women were Shobha Adhikari and Sota Devi from Varanasi, and Geeta Dasi, Pushpa Adhikari and Menaka Mandal from Vrindavan.
Modi interacted with them and thanked them, Jha said.
Sulabh International has been working since July 2012, following Supreme Court directions, for the rehabilitation and welfare of widowed and abandoned women living in Mathura-Vrindavan and Varanasi. PTI COR KIS ARI
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