Sangareddy to have first prison museum

To give a peek into means of punishment

Hyderabad: Eighteen open air prisoners have been working frantically for the last few days, giving final touches to the nine barracks including a separate female barrack, solitary cell, quarters and a watch tower to the 219-year-old Sangareddy district prison which is being turned into a heritage museum.

• Built in 1796, the heritage structure is all set to open in May
• It is the only one of its kind in India, to be a major tourist dr

The museum likely to be inaugurated by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in May would be manned by the open air prisoners. Officials hope it will become one of the major tourist attractions in Telangana. Director General of Police (Prisons) V K Singh informed: “A project of this magnitude would have cost Rs 100 crore, but with less than Rs 30 lakh, the prison is turned into a museum. It would depict the history of Telangana jails and house unique items related to the jails.”

The entry fee is fixed at Rs 5 and would be free for children. Each of the nine barracks would house items pertaining to some aspect of prisons. About 70 artists were given different themes to depict the various aspects of punishment. For instance, there is a painting where an elephant tramples a convict and another shows a punishment during the Mughal era.

A unique article in the form of a bell that dates back to over 100 years, brought from Warangal jail, would be placed in the courtyard. Santosh K Roy, Deputy Superintendent, Sangareddy Jail, elaborates that, “the bell is unique in many ways. Made of five metals, it weighs over 80 kg and is manufactured by Lyon &Adams, London.” Likewise, chairs, fretters that were used for prisoners and other items from different prisons would be showcased at the museum.

A section would also have articles manufactured by prisoners in different jails in Telangana. Items such as durries, soaps, steel articles and bakery items. A sales counter would be manned by an open air prisoner. The jail would also house paintings of prominent people from Telangana. The list includes Prof Jayshankar, KCR, P V Narasimha Rao, Keshava Rao, Ganapathi Devudu from the Kakatiya dynasty and others.

Spread over three acres, the original structure of the prison, which was built in stone, sand, wood and mortar, has not been tampered with, thus giving the museum a rustic look. The fort-like look is preserved and authorities also plan to protect the huge pillar and old gate adjacent to the prison museum which is now a government school.

It used to be the Nizam’s treasury. P Anuradha Reddy, Convenor, INTACH, Telangana, hailed the government decision and said it would pave way for not only attracting tourists but also providing employment to open air prisoners. INTACH is also planning to conduct a conservation engineering classes for prisoners.

By:T P Venu