Hyderabad’s new ‘feel the jail experience’ lets people live like prisoners for 24 hours: Eat jail food and sleep in prison cells
The unusual initiative was launched by Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla at the State Correctional Institution (SICA) Institute, Chanchalguda, on Tuesday. The project is gaining attention online for giving ordinary citizens the chance to voluntarily live in prison-style conditions for 12 hours or 24 hours a day.
According to Soumya Mishra, Director General of Prisons and Jail Services, Telangana, the initiative is not designed for entertainment purposes but as an educational and awareness-oriented program aimed at helping people understand prison systems, legal conduct, social responsibility and prisoner rehabilitation.
What is Hyderabad’s ‘Feel the Prison Experience’ programme?
The newly launched ‘Jail Anubhavam’ program allows the public to enroll in a structured prison experience through paid bookings. Participants will reportedly observe prison discipline, consume prison food, stay in prison-style accommodations, and experience regular daily routines similar to those followed by inmates.
Officials said the program aims to raise empathy and awareness about correctional systems rather than sensationalize prison life. Soumya Mishra explained that the initiative focuses on education, reflection and understanding how modern prisons function as rehabilitative institutions rather than purely punitive spaces.
Telangana Prisons Department has also launched its official website for online bookings and public visits to the museum and prison experience programme. Officials believe this initiative can help citizens better understand the realities of incarceration, discipline and rehabilitation.
Telangana Prisons Museum showcases the evolution of prison systems
Telangana Prisons Museum has been developed as a modern reformatory awareness museum that shows how prison systems have evolved over time. According to officials, the museum explores the transition from prison models based on harsh punishment to modern systems centered on correction, rehabilitation and human dignity. The museum features recreated old prison barracks, penal-related exhibits, historical prison artifacts, shackles, chains, shackles, gallows, and immersive audiovisual exhibits designed to depict prison life in different periods.
Soumya Mishra said that after the old prison museum in Sangareddy collapsed a few years ago, the department decided to revive and expand the prison museum concept. Chanchalguda museum has now been designed as a larger and more inclusive institution focusing on awareness, education, research and social reflection.
One of the important sections of the museum highlights the role of prisoners and convict laborers during the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam between 1961 and 1968. Authorities said that during this period, an open-air prison was established at the project site, where prisoners contributed to the construction work.
Telangana prison museum becomes India’s fifth prison museum
With the launch of the Telangana Prisons Museum, Hyderabad now joins the list of small Indian cities that host private prison museums. This is the fifth prison museum in India after similar institutions in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Alipore in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Goa, officials said.
During the inauguration, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla termed the museum as a historical milestone in the development of correctional administration in Telangana. He said that in ancient times, prisons were largely associated with harsh punishments and physical hardship, but modern penal systems are now increasingly focused on reform, rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
The governor also praised the Telangana Prisons Department for developing an institution that provides the public with a more realistic understanding of prison administration and inmate life. He noted that the museum is not just a collection of old prison artifacts, but also a broader narrative about justice, punishment, corrections and human reform.
Why is Hyderabad’s prison experience gaining attention online?
The concept of experiencing prison life as a volunteer has already created buzz on social media, with many users describing it as one of the most unusual tourism and awareness initiatives launched recently in India. The idea of paying to spend a day in prison-style conditions has sparked controversy online; While some saw it as educational, others found the concept surprising.
However, officials continue to emphasize that the initiative aims to raise awareness about the law, discipline, rehabilitation and correctional systems. The Telangana government also highlighted broader prison reform efforts, including inmates’ welfare, vocational training, prison industries, agriculture, skill development and social reintegration programmes.
As interest in the Hyderabad prison museum grows, “Feel the Prison Experience” could soon become one of the city’s most talked about experiential attractions, offering visitors an unusual glimpse into a world most people can only see from the outside.
Input from agencies
