Parliamentary committee inspects five prison facilities over overcrowding

Members of Sri Lanka’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection inspected five prison facilities on Friday (November 6, 2026) to examine overcrowding and ways to reduce it.

The committee visited the Colombo Remand Prison, New Magazine Prison, Women’s Prison, Welikada Prison and Prison Hospital.

During the inspections, committee members examined overcrowding, kitchen operations, hospital facilities and the condition of prison buildings, including those identified as hazardous.

They also reviewed wastewater drainage systems, facilities available to prison officers and the challenges faced by them.

The inspection visits were attended by Committee Chairperson and Member of Parliament Dr. Najith Indika, along with MPs Mujibur Rahuman, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe and retired Major General G. D. Sooriyabandara.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice and National Integration also participated in the visits, along with Acting Commissioner General of Prisons R. Prasad Hemantha Kumara and other officials of the Department of Prisons.