Home Minister G. Parameshwara said in the Legislative Council on Thursday that while the open-air prison in Shivamogga was nearing completion, another one in Mangaluru is being proposed on a 40-acre plot. This, he said, would help ease the problem of overcrowding in prisons. Statistics provided by the Home Department show that Karnataka prisons house 13,859 inmates against the capacity of 13,581. The problem is particularly acute in central prisons, which house 8,920 prisoners against the capacity of 6,426.
