Mandya: If you think the armouries of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century king of Mysuru, inside the Srirangapatna fort, have been restored and are out of danger, think again! The sewage seeping into the armouries' chambers from the residential neighbourhoods nearby, often waist high will destroy it all!
The biggest of the armouries, called " Maddina Mane" in local parlance, is filled with sewage that the authorities having done little to drain. There is no move to plug the seepage either, for the last couple of years!
Officials said that the problem is more recent and was not evident when the armouries were restored by the Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums.
“There was no sewage inside the armouries when the restoration work was done in 2008. The seepage started after the Town Municipal Council of Srirangapatna designed faulty drainages,” say official sources.
Although the sewage is seeping into not one, but three armouries, the Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums is oblivious and is blaming
the Town Municipal Council of Srirangapatna for the problem, accusing it of encouraging the unauthorised construction of houses around the monuments, which are letting their sewage into the armoury. A civil engineering team from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru may be the answer. It has conducted an inspection and suggested measures to prevent further damage. Based on its report, a proposal to tackle the sewage inside the armouries will be submitted to the state government soon, according to department sources.
