HYDERABAD: When the 219-year old Sangareddy district prison which was turned into a heritage museum, opens up for public viewing, it would be manned and managed by prisoners.
The jail authorities who wish to give the tourists a raw feel of the jail, have decided to employ open air prisoners for regular duties there. The restoration of the jail is nearing completion and would be opened soon.
Deemed to be country’s first-ever prison museum, the old Sangareddy prison built in 1796 by the then Nizam’s government is spread over three acres, and was in use as recently as 2012 when a new jail was constructed in Kandi and inmates were shifted there.
Director General of Police (Prisons) Vinoy Kumar Singh, who inspected the museum recently, said the museum is likely to be inaugurated in the first week of April.
Apart from employing 10 open air prisoners with the jail officer as the curator of the museum, VK Singh eyes inclusion of the heritage jail museum in the Hyderabad tourism circuit. “We are writing to TSTDC to include our museum in the tourism circuit. We need to promote our heritage. I will request TSTDC for bus connectivity to the museum,” Singh. Each prisoner will be paid Rs 70 per day for their service.
Constructed in 1796 by the Nizams, the jail was originally a cavalry barrack. Later, it was transformed into a jail.
Further, the department has identified the remains of old Nizam’s Treasury next to the jail museum and plans to restore that too. “We see a beutiful pillar and old gates of Nizam’s treasury that once existed next to the jail. It is now part of a government school and we want to preserve that,” added Singh.
The jail authorities have also recovered a clay tile with Nizam’s emblem dating back to 1865 and also Nizam’s Mint sign boards, to be placed for public viewing.