Tipu Sultan’s historical armoury at Srirangapatna is all set for relocation to another site, to pave way for the completion of the Bengaluru-Mysuru rail track doubling work.
The armoury, a neglected square-shaped structure about 12 metres wide and ten metres tall, was used to store arms and ammunition by Tipu during the Anglo-Mysore wars.
The excavation around the 18th-century heritage structure in Srirangapatna has been completed, and hundreds of truck loads of soil from the site and across the half-buried structure shifted out.
The entire piece, weighing around 900 to 1,000 tonnes, was inspected by officials from the railways, Archaeological Survey of India and a two-member team from the United States.
March deadline
Technical experts and a large number of workers were at work analysing and marking the structure when this correspondent visited the site earlier this week.
More than 70% of the major works have been completed and strengthening of the structure with lime mortar will begin on February 20. The entire shifting process will be completed by March. Mr. Ravichandran, Deputy Chief Engineer, South-Western Railways, said the structure remains sturdy.
Sophisticated method
The armoury will be relocated using the Unified Jacking System. Jacks, iron poles and other tools are inserted underneath the structure to lift and roll it to another site. Hydraulic cranes and other advanced equipment are to be used.
Shifting of the armoury structure, which is necessary for the completion of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track-doubling work, has missed several deadlines for the last five years. It bisects the alignment of the second track. Thus, the work to relocate the armoury at a cost of Rs. 13.66 crore has been awarded to PSL-Wolfe Private Limited, a joint venture company.
The shifting would help the railways introduce high-speed trains on the track, apart from running additional trains from Mysuru to other places in the country via Bengaluru.
The ASI and other agencies are considering display possibilities for the relocated armoury, since it is a historical artefact.
