The shifting of Tipu Sultan’s armoury, a major roadblock that is hampering the pace of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track-doubling work, may skip the March 2016 deadline by at least six months. Completion of the much delayed project will pave the way for the introduction of additional trains between Mysuru and Bengaluru, and the introduction of high-speed trains between Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru lane has several curves. In spite of this, Railway officials are keen to run high-speed trains along this route. Nevertheless, the shifting of the 900-tonne historical armoury, made of lime mortar and bricks in the 18th century, has been delaying the works by bisecting the alignment of the second track.
March-2016 deadline
The contract to shift the armoury was awarded to a U.S.-based company, Wolfe Pvt. Ltd., at a cost of Rs. 13.66 crore and the company was told to complete the shifting by March 2016.
The total length of the track is 139 km and of this, 137.5 km has already been double-tracked. The department had planned to run trains on trial bases (after obtaining permission from the Commissioner for Railway Safety) on the remaining stretch from April 1, a senior railway officer, said, on the condition of anonymity.
The lifting and shifting of the armoury, which was used to store arms and ammunition during the historical Anglo-Mysuru wars, is expected to take six more months, the officer told The Hindu.
Cause for delay
Senior officials at the site, pointed out that the structure was not in a sturdy condition, and therefore, they need more time to complete the works.
Some major works including soil testing, strengthening the land by drilling over 40 holes of several meters and filling the same with concrete along the track, demolishing some railway buildings to create a platform to shift the monuments, began after July 2015. Whilst the National Design and Research Forum has rendered technical support to the officials, the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Monuments Authority will supervise the work.
The early arrival of the monsoons would further delay the shifting. The land should be completely dry while the monument is being shifted, the workers said.
Financial burden
The delay is also causing a financial burden on the authorities. When the Railways proposed the project in 2007-’08, the aim was to complete it by 2011 at a cost of Rs. 350 crore. However, now the project cost has escalated to Rs. 900 crore. At least 35,000 people commute by trains every day. The track doubling will reduce the commuting time between two cities and also allow the department to run more trains.
The cost for shifting the armoury has escalated to Rs. 900 crore.
