In the matter of saving our historical places or heritage site little attention is paid to them by the state as well as central government agencies. A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is vital and if it is absent at stake will be loss of heritage of aesthetics and cultural identity. Across India thousands of heritage sites have been lost or left attended to rot for reasons of apathy and negligence. For example in July 2018 a listed heritage structure Wellesley Bridge, also known as Lushington bridge in Kollegal, Karnataka was almost lost due to heavy rains. Due to incessant rain the bridge that was not properly being maintained by the state agency, could not withstand the surge of excess discharge of water when the floodgates opened and it knocked down several stone pillars. About a 20-m span, of the nearly 400-m long bridge, was washed due to flooding in the river,
Lushington stone bridge, Kollegal, KAstarofmysore.com |
Built in 1799 under the early colonial period headed by EIC, the Arthur Wellesley Bridge (as it is locally known) near Sathyagala in the erstwhile princely State of Mysore, was a good example of bridge engineering technology of past era. It is 400 meters long stone bridge built across the Cauvery River at Shivanasamudra near Madhyaranga in Kollegal taluk. The bridge is supported by dressed stone pillars with stone girders resting firmly on the rocky terrain. It was so designed to withstand the force of surging river water even when it was in spate. Though two modern bridges came up later parallel to Lushington bridge, the stone bridge, despite its age never lost its grandeur and structural stability.
Cauvery river in spate 2018 starofmysore.com |
Records point out that the bridge was originally called Lord Richard Colley Wellesley, an EIC administrator and in 1835 it was renamed Lushington Bridge in 1835 in honor of Lord S.R. Lushington,the then governor of Madras Presidency between 1827 and 1835.
Lord S.R. Lushington, then governor of Madras Presidency en.wikipedia.org |
The correct date of construction of the stone pillar bridge of Kollegal is not known. However according to the Mysore Gazetteer published in the early part of the last century, the stone bridge came up sometime between 1830 and 1832 and named after Lushington who was the Governor of Madras between 1827 and 1835. Similar in design, the Wellesley Bridge at Srirangapatana came up between 1802 and 1804 when Purnaiah was at the helm of administration as the Diwan.
But way back in 1818, major repair work was done on the bridge when Dr. AL. Ramaswami Mudaliar was the chief administrator of the princely state (Vide a copy of letter dated July 23, 1833, published in ‘Narrative of a Journey to the Falls of the Cavery’ by Lt. H. Jervis; he attributes it to ‘Ramaswami Mudeliar, Jaghirdar of Sivasamoodrum.)
lushington stone bridge with missing spans, Kollegal..thehindu.com
Authorised by the State Department of Archaeology and Heritage the repair work on the 200 year old bridge was planned soon at the cost of Rs. 2 crore to reconstruct those spans that were washed away in 2018 torrential rains. The work got delayed repeatedly due to surge in water flow in the seasonal months. During 2019, there was no respite from incessant rains and release of water from the reservoirs upstream. The Contractors hiked up the cost as they had to rebuild a couple of spans washed away in 2019 due to surge. Earlier increased water discharge from Kabini and KRS reservoirs led to the partial collapse of the bridge
In March 2021, the then government announced that the old Lushington bridge would be repaired and conserved as a monument and in addition to it, a new bridge would be built at cost of Rs. 200 crore. Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi announced this alternative plan.
The heritage stone bridge is close to Madhyaranga en route to Bharachukki falls and Gaganachukki Falls. This picturesque place draws lots of visitors so the stone bridge should not be relegated to the pages of history books.
https://starofmysore.com/historical-lushington-bridge-near-kollegal-washed-away/
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/renovation-of-historic-wellesley-bridge-launched-737908.html
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