Tipu armoury site at Kalasipalya lies in a shambles

The historical Tipu Sultan’s Armoury at Kalasipalya here, which was an integral part of the wars fought by the 19th century ruler, is now in a shambles and has turned into a dumping site.

Neither the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) nor the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, Government of Karnataka (DAMH) has been conserving this heritage site.

Heaps of garbage can be seen dumped inside and outside the armoury site. There is also a temporary shed inside, with some men taking shelter in it. There is no proper entrance but just a makeshift wooden gate.

At the outset, it does not look like a heritage site until one takes a closer look at the structure and the board erected by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) indicating Tipu’s armoury.

No protection

An ASI official said: “This site is not protected by us unlike in the case of the Srirangapatna armoury is. This does not figure in the list of monuments which was handed over to us in 1920 for protection. It should be with the state heritage department or under private ownership. Many sites do not come under us because they have no national importance or architectural features.”

Director (Museums), DAMH, H T Talwar, passed the buck to the Karnataka State Board of Wakfs (KSBW). “This does not belong to us. It could be with the KSBW. We have 725 sites and over 800 are with the ASI. There are many sites which are not listed but are protected. Due to financial constraints, this could have been ignored.”

The KSBW Chief Executive Officer, Anees Ahmed, added that this site should be protected by archaeological departments and not by the board.

Landscaping

In November 2002, based on the State government’s request, INTACH cleaned the site and landscaped the gallery. This was done for four months at a cost of Rs 4.91 lakh.

Arvind Chandramohan, Coordinator, INTACH said: “We only cleaned the site. When we took up the work, the whole area was filled with garbage and only the top portion of the armoury was visible. It has become a dumping site again. It is sad that a heritage site is not protected.”

Historians have been fighting for many years to protect it. This was built during 18th century, the same time when Srirangapatna was built.

Srirangapatna is protected by the ASI and crores of rupees would be spent on shifting and restoring it for Bangalore- Mysore railway track doubling.