By Leroy Smith

THE Ministry of Public Infrastructure has commenced remedial works at the Georgetown Prison, portions of which were damaged during last week’s riot which left 17 prisoners dead.

The police and army continued to maintain a strong presence at the facility.
Director of Prisons, Carl Graham, told the Guyana Chronicle that in addition to the assistance from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the prison would also be using its own in-house infrastructure team to support those sent by the ministry.
Regarding the general mood in the prison following Friday’s meeting between two government ministers and the prisoners, Graham explained that the situation is “stable.”
He said that prisoners are now comfortable with respect to their sleeping areas and other facilities, which were immediately remedied.
Graham could not say when there would be a complete withdrawal of the troops from the area.
During a visit at the location on Saturday, it was observed that fire tenders were parked and ready to go into action in case of any eventuality.
The prisoners set nine fires last Wednesday night and another on Thursday, which led to the death of the 17 prisoners.
On Friday, Food for the Poor donated 400 mattresses to the prison. It is understood that the shipment for the prison was something that was already in the pipeline before the unrest.