Tipu Sultan's largest armory ''Maddina Mane,"Srirangapatna - Will ASI fix the sewage seepage from houses?

Navrang India November 04, 2022


Srirangapatna, Tipu's largest armory. deccanchronicle.com

The biggest of the 10 armoires, built by Tipu Sultan of Srirangapatna is called " Maddina Mane" in local parlance. The 18th century daring ruler considered the English company - the Presidency of madras his arch enemy and to stop  their expansion into his areas he gave them stiff resistance  in alliance with the French army.  As part of his military strategy, he not only fortified his fort at Srirangpatna and made it self-contained, but also build several armories for storage of arms and ammunition. In the one at Bangalore, he secretly did various experiments in missiles and their diligent application for defense. 
All his armories are built underground close to the fort's entrance  and can be easily accessed. Further, he never allowed houses to be built near them as such places are prone to fire hazards.  The armoires, legacy of Tipu's reign  and part of history of Karnataka are under the control of Archaeological Survey of India. The reason is they carry ''heritage tag''.It is quite unfortunate the armories are being poorly maintained. 

The largest armory  Maddina Mane inside the Srirangapatna Fort appears to be poorly maintained  by the ASI. It was filled with 
with sewage and the matter was taken to the authorities. There was no ation whatsoever from the govt. agency. Redtapism was ruling the roost and nothing seemed to move fast.  The armories' chambers  were more often than not filled with sewage seeping into  them from  the  residential neighborhood and many times it was  waist high. Persistent dampness and  water stagnation will weaken the structure. Armory being an old brick-lime mortar masonry structure it will be susceptible to severe damages in the future. Since 2016 no attempt has been made to repair the structure and stop the flow of seepage.   
The ASI pointed out that this problem was of recent origin and when the structure was restored last no such problems occurred.  

According to media reports three armories of Tipu Sultan were facing similar problem seepage of sewage and the ASI not yet moved its fingers As for the Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums they put the blame squarely on the town  municipality. 
  
ASI accused   the Municipal Council of  Srirangapatna for  encouraging the unauthorised construction of houses around the monuments, which are letting their sewage into the Armory.  It is unlawful to allow constructions near the monuments. A civil engineering team from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru upon inspection suggested  may be the answer. It has conducted an inspection and  suggested measures to prevent further damage and to tackle seepage of sewage into the armories. 

In Bangalore where Tipu's armory is located there are many buildings near-by in violation of laws covering heritage and monument sites.    

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