Taplejung, Karagar ka adha bhanda badi bandhi haru viral joro le birami. Over half of the 57 inmates of the Taplejung Prison have been suffering from viral fever. According to jailor Bal Krishna Guragain, seven were still bed-ridden while others had slightly recovered. A team of three health workers led by a doctor paid a visit to the prison on August 14 after such a large number of inmates became ill around the same time. The cost of medicines for the inmates is shared by the prison and the hospital. Prison officials said that they had to request the hospital for support as the budget allocated last year for treatment of the inmates was not at all sufficient. Jailor Guragain informed that Rs 55,000 was provided to the jail this year and which is yet to arrive. Last year’s budget of Rs 63,000 fell short by Rs 30,000 which was taken from social security program and that Rs 5,000 was still to be paid to the medicine store. The prison, with a capacity to have 25, is currently accommodating 94 inmates on August 14. Some of the expenses are born by the inmates themselves.”We ask them to spend the treatment expenses on their own with a promise of reimbursement”. Devra