Hyderabad: ‘Jail Khana’ in Secunderabad set to get a fresh lease of life

Hyderabad : After being neglected for several decades, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is all set to restore the 165-year-old ‘Jail Khana’.

On Tuesday, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), Special Chief Secretary, Arvind Kumar on Twitter announced the restoration. Replying to a tweet of historian Mohammed Haseeb Ahmed, Arvind Kumar informed that the HMDA will take up the restoration works of the heritage structure.

Historian Haseeb Ahmed, tweeted “It will be great if we’re able to restore the beautiful heritage piece Jail Kahan - Monda Market in Secunderabad, Asif Jahi Dynasty architect establishment,” by tagging Arvind Kumar, Minister K T Rama Rao, HMDA, and Telangana tourism department.

A 160-year-old structure which once resonated with cries of patriotism now cries for attention and efforts at conservation. It is in a dilapidated state and is waiting for immediate repairs. The heritage structure has around 60 tenants operating small and medium scale business establishments and shops fetching a rental of some Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,000 per month.

Tenants said that so far, no authority has initiated restoration works and they had taken up minor repairs on their own whenever required.

The heritage structure was built around 1860 and served as a civil jail. Later, Jail Khana was turned into a commercial complex in 1930 and was later handed over to Municipal Corporation after the formation of Andhra Pradesh. It was declared as a heritage structure in 2006 during Secunderabad’s 200 years of celebrations. The structure was built with walls of 24 inches width for safety of the prison as per the then jail norms of the British.