Crucial underground work on the metro has finally started in the bustling City Market and Kalasipalya areas. Although the tunnelling work is yet to commence in this section, the land that has been acquired has been barricaded and initial work on the north ramp has commenced. However, with heritage structures like Tipu Sultan’s Palace located nearby, conservationists want a proper monitoring system to be in place to record the impact of vibrations on this and other ancient structures.
The Under Ground-1 (UG-1) metro line consists of stations at Chickpet and City Market. The City Market station is located a few meters from Tipu’s Palace and Bangalore fort in Kalasipalyam. There is also the ancient the Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple, in Kalasipalya, which is also close to the metro construction site. What impact the underground burrowing and the ongoing construction will have on these heritage structures is not known.
Heritage Conservator Pankaj Modi said there were apprehensions that the underground line passing near Tipu’s Palace and other heritage spots in Kalasipalya would damage the structures. Detailed studies were conducted some years ago and data from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the impact of vibrations on heritage structures was also consulted.
“The Archaeological Survey of India has stated that there won’t be any impact and a green signal was given to the metro work. But I feel the station work which is being carried out near the heritage spots should be monitored. Digging for the City Market station has started and we need to monitor if the excavation work is having any kind of impact on the Tipu Palace as heavy machinery is being used to execute the work,” Mr Modi said. Mr Modi proposes that monitoring devices be attached to the pillars of the monuments to record the impact.
“As far as I know, there is no monitoring happening. It is the duty of the ASI and Bangalore Metro Rail to monitor the impact of construction activities on heritage monuments located in the vicinity,” he said.