Tipu’s armoury stops railways in its tracks
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Shifting the 225-year-old Tipu Sultan’s armoury, which has come in the way of the Mysore-Bangalore railway doubling project, is indeed a Herculean task. The relocation of the armoury gained momentum with three global companies evincing interest in taking up the challenging job. Though the state government has cleared the relocation work, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is yet to approve it before the South Western Railway invite global tenders from experts in this field.
Two or three international companies which have shown interest in this task have suggested that the entire structure can only be moved at a pace of four inches to five meters per day. This means that it will take anything from six months to six years to shift the armoury 150 metres from its present location. Though such an exercise has never been undertaken in the country, there are a few agencies in the US, Switzerland, Australia and Canada which have the experience of moving churches and houses. However, moving this two-century-old structure could be tricky as it’s a lime and brick construction and is likely to be lifted as one unit.
Another problem is that two third of the structure is buried under the earth. The brick and lime armoury, which is 150 metres wide with walls up to 1.5 metres thick, weighs around 800 tonnes. The doubling work has been delayed since the project involved multiple agencies like the Railways, the state Archaeology department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). In 2010, the ASI had stepped in and suggested moving the armoury 200 metres away. However, the Railways approached the Infrastructure Development Department and Kannada and Culture Department and decided to consult various agencies in the interest and sentiments of the people.
Speaking to reporters after the chief minister reviewed the Railways projects, SWR's chief administrative officer, Mr Adesh Sharma said, "Though the state Archaeology department has given its nod to move the armoury, the final decision rests with the ASI. We are waiting for their approval. Once they give us the green signal, we can take up the work.” He said SWR had consulted a US based company, Prime Movers, which had suggested that the structure could be moved four inches a day. Meanwhile two other companies which have also evinced interest felt that the structure could be moved three to five meters a day. “We need to take a call in consultation with the ASI in this regard; we do not know how many days exactly it will take to relocate this treasure," he said.
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