Finally, work on shifting Tipu Sultan's armoury, to enable doubling of the Bengaluru-Mysuru railway line, has begun in Srirangapatna. The excavation work has been completed to make way for the removal of the 18th century armoury.
On Thursday, foundation would be laid at the place where the translocated armoury would be placed. The compound wall of the existing armoury has been removed to enable easy shifting of the nearly 1,000-tonne armoury.
The equipment for the translocation arrived from the United States in September. Realising that shifting the armoury without damaging it is a challenging task, the railways had invited global bids.
Finally, the work was awarded to PSL-Wolfe Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company of India and the US.
Mukat Sharma, director of the project and representative of the joint-venture company, told DH, "We were waiting for the rainy season to end in Mandya. Now, we are set to remove the armoury. It will be placed just around 100 metres away from the existing place. Jamin Buckingum, president of the US firm, has arrived in Srirangapatna. He would be monitoring the execution of the translocation of the heritage structure. At Thursday's meeting, we will be able to decide when the removal would begin," he added.
Containers carrying several hydraulic jacks and other equipment, which have arrived from the US, have been lined up along the railway line. The mechanism to be adopted for lifting the armoury is simple - the entire structure will be treated as a single unit and lifted from the ground level by inserting jacks below the building in a unified manner.
This is the first time such an exercise is being taken up in India, according to sources in the railways. Though Srirangapatna has at least six to seven armouries built by Tipu Sultan, the government decided to save the one which is holding up the doubling of the 13-km single line, which is part of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track doubling project. The railways' budget for the relocation work is Rs 13.5 crore.
DHNews Service
Finally, work on shifting Tipu Sultan’s armoury, to enable doubling of the Bengaluru-Mysuru railway line, has begun in Srirangapatna. The excavation work has been completed to make way for the removal of the 18th century armoury.
On Thursday, foundation would be laid at the place where the translocated armoury would be placed. The compound wall of the existing armoury has been removed to enable easy shifting of the nearly 1,000-tonne armoury.
The equipment for the translocation arrived from the United States in September. Realising that shifting the armoury without damaging it is a challenging task, the railways had invited global bids.
Finally, the work was awarded to PSL-Wolfe Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company of India and the US.
Mukat Sharma, director of the project and representative of the joint-venture company, told DH, "We were waiting for the rainy season to end in Mandya. Now, we are set to remove the armoury. It will be placed just around 100 metres away from the existing place. Jamin Buckingum, president of the US firm, has arrived in Srirangapatna. He would be monitoring the execution of the translocation of the heritage structure. At Thursday’s meeting, we will be able to decide when the removal would begin,” he added.
Containers carrying several hydraulic jacks and other equipment, which have arrived from the US, have been lined up along the railway line. The mechanism to be adopted for lifting the armoury is simple - the entire structure will be treated as a single unit and lifted from the ground level by inserting jacks below the building in a unified manner.
This is the first time such an exercise is being taken up in India, according to sources in the railways. Though Srirangapatna has at least six to seven armouries built by Tipu Sultan, the government decided to save the one which is holding up the doubling of the 13-km single line, which is part of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track doubling project. The railways’ budget for the relocation work is Rs 13.5 crore.
DH News Service
On Thursday, foundation would be laid at the place where the translocated armoury would be placed. The compound wall of the existing armoury has been removed to enable easy shifting of the nearly 1,000-tonne armoury.
The equipment for the translocation arrived from the United States in September. Realising that shifting the armoury without damaging it is a challenging task, the railways had invited global bids.
Finally, the work was awarded to PSL-Wolfe Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company of India and the US.
Mukat Sharma, director of the project and representative of the joint-venture company, told DH, "We were waiting for the rainy season to end in Mandya. Now, we are set to remove the armoury. It will be placed just around 100 metres away from the existing place. Jamin Buckingum, president of the US firm, has arrived in Srirangapatna. He would be monitoring the execution of the translocation of the heritage structure. At Thursday's meeting, we will be able to decide when the removal would begin," he added.
Containers carrying several hydraulic jacks and other equipment, which have arrived from the US, have been lined up along the railway line. The mechanism to be adopted for lifting the armoury is simple - the entire structure will be treated as a single unit and lifted from the ground level by inserting jacks below the building in a unified manner.
This is the first time such an exercise is being taken up in India, according to sources in the railways. Though Srirangapatna has at least six to seven armouries built by Tipu Sultan, the government decided to save the one which is holding up the doubling of the 13-km single line, which is part of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track doubling project. The railways' budget for the relocation work is Rs 13.5 crore.
DHNews Service

On Thursday, foundation would be laid at the place where the translocated armoury would be placed. The compound wall of the existing armoury has been removed to enable easy shifting of the nearly 1,000-tonne armoury.
The equipment for the translocation arrived from the United States in September. Realising that shifting the armoury without damaging it is a challenging task, the railways had invited global bids.
Finally, the work was awarded to PSL-Wolfe Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company of India and the US.
Mukat Sharma, director of the project and representative of the joint-venture company, told DH, "We were waiting for the rainy season to end in Mandya. Now, we are set to remove the armoury. It will be placed just around 100 metres away from the existing place. Jamin Buckingum, president of the US firm, has arrived in Srirangapatna. He would be monitoring the execution of the translocation of the heritage structure. At Thursday’s meeting, we will be able to decide when the removal would begin,” he added.
Containers carrying several hydraulic jacks and other equipment, which have arrived from the US, have been lined up along the railway line. The mechanism to be adopted for lifting the armoury is simple - the entire structure will be treated as a single unit and lifted from the ground level by inserting jacks below the building in a unified manner.
This is the first time such an exercise is being taken up in India, according to sources in the railways. Though Srirangapatna has at least six to seven armouries built by Tipu Sultan, the government decided to save the one which is holding up the doubling of the 13-km single line, which is part of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track doubling project. The railways’ budget for the relocation work is Rs 13.5 crore.
DH News Service