Purandeswari Chips in to Save INS Vikrant from Being Scrapped
By VKL Gayatri - VISAKHAPATNAM Published: 07th February 2014 08:13 AM Last Updated: 07th February 2014 08:13 AM
Union minister of state for commerce and industry and Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha member Daggubati Purandeswari has swung into action to conserve India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, which has been decommissioned and is presently anchored in the West Coast near Mumbai.
The New Indian Express carried an article on January 26, highlighting the importance of INS Vikrant, after the Mumbai High Court delivered its verdict in favour of Navy, clearing the decks for the sale of the warship as scrap.
In a remarkable development, Purandeswari, during her recent visit to the city, collected information from TNIE and also acquired other related information from the officials. Subsequently, she wrote a letter to the minister for defence AK Antony, asking him to handover INS Vikrant to Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA), which has expressed its willingness to turn the warship into a museum. VUDA has already gone on record stating that it is keen to take up the project if the Navy brings the ship to Visakhapatnam and hands it over.
“A large number of people, intellectuals, Indian Navy, Merchant Navy and other associations are demanding that the Government turn the warship into a maritime museum. VUDA has had experience in successfully converting INS Kurusura into a submarine museum. Moreover, INS Vikrant has a long-standing relationship with the East Coast, particularly with my constituency,” Purandeswari explained to the defence minister.
INS Vikrant has been decommissioned 10 years ago and the Indian Navy wishes to sell it away as scrap. Some former Indian Navy employees and intellectuals filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court, which agreed with the Navy’s argument and delivered verdict in its favour.
However, some other former Navy officers and sailors are trying to challenge the Bombay High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court.
MARINE MUSEUM, A VIABLE PROPOSITION
INS Vikrant has a space of 2.6 lakh square feet, of which 50,000 square feet can be developed into a museum, and the rest put to commercial use. Provision for a helipad to enable visitors to fly in to the museum on helicopters, sale of high-end goods in the commercial area, construction of an auditorium and an art gallery on board, luxury clubs and cafes for entertainment, a health spa and lounge bars, a multi-purpose hall for conventions, weddings and other parties were some of the proposals made on an earlier occasion. According to a study, if INS Vikrant is developed into a museum, it shall attract over 2,500 visitors per day.
