Photo: BSS

KHULNA, Oct 23, 2025 (BSS)- Newly built district jail is likely to start operation next Saturday, as about 98 percent of the construction work is completed. 

The Jail authorities in Khulna are set to begin transferring inmates to the newly built district jail from old one at Jailkhana Ghat. In the first phase, 100 prisoners will be transferred to new facility on Saturday, Jail Superintendent Munir Hossain told BSS.

The existing jail at Jailkhana Ghat, located near the Bhairab River will continue to function as the Khulna Metropolitan Jail. 

The Jail Superintendent said the transfer would help reduce severe overcrowding in the old facility, where more than 1,400 inmates are living, almost double of its capacity.

The district jail has been constructed at a cost of Taka 288 crore on 30 acres of land near the Rupsha Bridge on Khulna city bypass road.

Officials of the Public Works Department said the new prison will 52 structures and can accommodate up to 4,000 inmates.

The jail has been designed as a correction facility with separate units for under-trial and convicted prisoners, juvenile and female detainees. 

The jail will also have a 50-bed hospital, workshops, a library, school for children of the jail staffs, a daycare and recreation centers for women inmates with children.

The old Khulna jail, built in 1912 on the banks of the Bhairab River, was designed for 678 inmates.