SRIRANGAPATNA: When you are over 200 years old, you know you have seen history happening. And you know you have been bridging the yesterdays with the todays. The Wellesley Bridge, built in Seringapatam (Srirangapatna) in 1804 after the fall of Tipu Sultan in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war, still carries traffic today. Surviving for more than two centuries, this oldest road bridge spans across the River Cauvery in the island town housing the famous temple of Lord Ranganathaswamy.
Standing the test of time, the historic bridge has often come under the threat of submersion and even collapse. However, it has defied all odds and has managed to survive till date. The more the inflow of water from the Cauvery catchment areas in Kodagu district, the more the bridge has had to bear the brunt of heavy water releases, local people say. This has been acute during monsoons when the bridge is almost submerged under releases of more than one lakh cusecs of water from the KRS Dam.
Located on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, the structure is still being used for vehicular movement, but one can only see bicycles, motorbikes and occasionally some four-wheelers. Standing on the bridge, one can literally feel the movement of the vehicles making a tapping sound. Considering its antiquity, the bridge is being repaired by the State archaeology and museums department with the tourism department providing about Rs 28 lakh.
Owing to heavy pressure exerted by the river during monsoons, the structure had weakened. The bulk of the repair work included building the retaining wall as a portion of it had collapsed. All the materials used -- limestone, small stones and burnt bricks -- are the same ones used during its construction. The vegetation covering this wall and the roots of some trees that were causing cracks in the bridge have been removed. Further, a lot of waste including branches, plastic debris and old clothes that were stuck in the pillars have also been removed but debris continues to accumulate as people dump rubbish.
The work included restoring both the pillars as also the bridge. With the base of the bridge damaged, some stones have been replaced, other worn-out portions have been cemented. Small crevices have been sealed to prevent any growth of plants. The bridge has been made stronger to withstand the pressure from heavy water flows. Says a State Archaeology and Museums department official, ”Work on the renovation got delayed due to the pandemic, it should have started in March-April.
However, work was taken up during October with funds provided by the tourism department. Some 10-15 per cent of the work remains and it will be completed by the end of March.” Advocate and local temple priest Murali says, “After the construction of the new bridge, the Wellesley bridge is hardly used. In fact, the movement of heavy vehicles has been banned. But thankfully, the bridge was recently renovated.” It was built under the directions of Dewan Poornaiah during the reign of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakh.
It was later named as Wellesley Bridge after the then British governor general, the Marquis of Wellesley. Interestingly, Curzon’s Collection of ‘Souvenir of Mysore Album’ with an old photo taken by an unknown photographer in 1890s describes the bridge as, “It is recognized as an interesting specimen of native architecture and it has withstood and survived the heaviest floods for a century without injury.” As we take a look at the bridge, it is completely standing on solid stone pillars with three pillars each in a row.
The pillars have been capped with 2-3 layered stone corbels jutting out to support them to meet any additional weight. These have been then surmounted by four layered stone girders on which the flags of the roadway have been laid. Local historians say it is built on monolithic stone pillars. Hundreds of stone pillars, corbels, girders, slabs and lime mortar have been used to provide stability and longevity. And if it is still standing today, it clearly demonstrates the prowess of our local builders in the olden days.
ENGINEERING MARVEL
This engineering marvel was built using monolithic stone pillars. As per an inscription stone just next
to the bridge, the construction was taken up in August 1802 by Dewan Poornaiah and completed two years later in October 1804
20 FEET WIDE
22 FEET HEIGHT
500 METRES LENGTH