An unusual place in Chennai - Central Prison

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The site about which I am going to write in this post is a place where you will no longer be able to visit. However, when I started writing a series of posts on Chennai, I thought I shouldn't miss it.


Chennai Central Jail was one of the oldest prisons in India. It was located in the heart of the city, right opposite the Central Railway Station. It began its operations during the British period in the year of 1837 CE.


The Government constructed a new prison in the suburb of Chennai, and hence it got closed. Before demolishing this massive structure spread across 11 acres, the Government kept the prison open to the public for about one month.


The prison had housed notable national leaders such as Subhash Chandra Bose and Veer Savarkar. The prison had also housed some prominent Tamil political leaders including Anna Durai, Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha.


I wonder why the Government didn't take steps to convert this into a memorial.


Happy travelling.




Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written. 


Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Comments

  1. RajagopalanSunday, November 15, 2009

    In my opinion 90% of the prisoners were criminals / petty thieves and the rest 10% might have been 'netas'! Hence it is not worth preserving the place as a monument.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BaluSunday, November 15, 2009

    know doubt this prison is a historical memorial to be maintained.but it is a pity that the gov is demolishing it

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSunday, November 15, 2009

    Did the inmates spread a mat on those rectangular platforms as a bed?

    ReplyDelete
  4. RamchandraMonday, October 11, 2010

    The bitter memory that our REAL leaders were housed in such a filthy place should atonce be erased. This will seve our next generations from pain. ...Ramchandra Karnik

    ReplyDelete

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