Maha govt to start jail tourism in state from Jan 26: Minister

The Maharashtra government will start 'jail tourism' in the state from Pune's Yerawada prison on January 26 to facilitate people to visit and see from close quarters the historical prisons, a minister said on Saturday.

This is the first of its kind initiative in the country, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh claimed at a press conference. 

"Under British rule, several freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Motilal Nehru, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu, Subhas Chandra Bose had been imprisoned in Yerawada jail and their memories have been preserved there," he said.

Deshmukh said that guides will be provided to the visitors and ticket prices will range from Rs 5 to Rs 50. The prisons in Thane, Nashik and Ratnagiri will also be part of the jail tourism initiative, the minister added.