Kolkata: Ever wondered what it would be like to spend a night in a jail? One such opportunity has come across in Kolkata where anyone can rent a room in a real prison cell and live there for a stipulated time period. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will rent out its unused cells at the 116-year old Alipore Correction Home as luxury cottages for the common people. The move, though not new in the country, is being taken up for the first time in West Bengal.
The Housing Development Corporation (HIDCO) will convert the cells into cottages. There will be a total of 43 cottages each having a bed, sofa, fan and air conditioner, LED television, refridgerator, modern toilet facilities and others. The restaurant is already in place. According to officials, Alipore Correctional Home will soon become a destination where one can spend time with the family in a completely different environment.
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The KMC's mayor in council meeting on Wednesday passed the proposal after getting approval from the Heritage Conservation Committee. Mayor-in-Council Swapan Samaddar of KMC's Heritage Department said, "The Alipore Jail Museum is a heritage building in the KMC area and the Heritage Committee has given approval following which the decision was taken as per the Municipal Act." The idea was first mooted by the Uttarakhand government in September 2022 where a person was allowed to stay in any jail in the state by paying a day's rent of Rs 500. Now similar facilities will be offered in Kolkata, said an official.
The historical Alipore Correctional Home was turned into a museum and opened to the public last year. The correctional home had once lodged several freedom fighters including Chittaranjan Das and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose during British rule. One can visit the jail museum by purchasing a ticket of Rs 30 while in order to enjoy the museum's 'light and sound show' facility, he/she has to pay Rs 100.
