Don’t break INS Viraat, make it a museum on Karnataka coast

Even while the people in the corridors of power thump their chests, bleating about nationalism and respect to national icons, they have failed to understand the importance of our war machines that have served our jawans and sailors on the high seas in good stead.

Politicos and their bureaucracy appear to be nonchalant about the great naval ships that we are breaking. It is such a shame that the country’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been sold to scrap dealers and now the second carrier INS Viraat’s fate is hanging in balance. Thanks to the few nationalist entrepreneurs from Maharashtra, the great ship might just get a new lease of life as the Supreme Court has stayed the breaking of Viraat. The ship is now anchored in Alang in Gujarat.

Karnataka has a special place in raising a flag of dissent against breaking up Viraat, and in a great show of nationalist fervour, the coastal region had petitioned the state government to bring Viraat to the coastal waters of Karnataka and make it a living museum.

This petition was sent even as the news broke out about the decommissioning of Viraat in 2015. The decommissioning happened sometime in 2017 without the state and the Central governments even taking note of the petition. The ship had been up for auction for breaking.

The Karnataka State Coastal Development Authority (KSCDA) had even sanctioned Rs 3.5 crore to develop infrastructure and identified two places on the coast of Karnataka. Though it had been forgotten during the last five years, the proposal has got traction after the SC halted the demolition of the ship.

In 2015, the three coastal districts of Karnataka— Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, under the flag of KSCDA— had appealed to then chief secretary Kaushik Mukharjee in this regard. The matter did not go any further though the state government had forwarded the letter to the Central government.

“This is the problem with us; the governments dilly-dally the issues of preserving our maritime heritage. The Navy is pained about the indifference of the bureaucracy and the political leadership. No sailor worth his salt can see the ship he has served on, being broken down. But at the same time, all ships cannot be converted into museums — due to corrosion they might sink which would be a worse thing to happen. But I am sure that with our resources, the country can take at least one aircraft carrier as a museum” says an official of the rank of a commander of a ship in the Navy on the condition of anonymity.

India is yet to build its own aircraft carrier and perhaps when it develops one, the country might treat its decommissioned carriers with more dignity. But this appears to be a long way off.

Both Vikrant and Viraat were of foreign make and they were ‘purchased’ and not built, except for ‘refitting’ and maintenance by our dockyards.

The reason to continue the demolition of the ship might stem from the fact that the ‘ski ramp’ on the front side of the ship has been already dismantled. “But when we got the ship (HMS Hermes of the British Royal Navy), the ramp was not there; our engineers scaled up the functionality of the ship and built the ramp which definitely gave an edge. If the government is sure of making it into a museum, the absence of a ramp should not be a problem” sources said.

The Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice of India S A Bobde ordered that the “parties engaged in the dismantling of the ship to maintain status quo”. The petition to this effect was filed by Envitech Marine Consultants Private Limited based in Thane, Maharashtra. But the ship-breaking company, Shree Ram Group, based at Alang in Gujarat, says it has already dismantled 40% of the ship. The petitioners, however, are hopeful that it can be restored and transformed into a museum in any coastal part of the country.

No takers

But are there any takers to the idea? “Yes, we had mooted the idea soon after the ship was decommissioned in 2015. Our former president Nivedit Alva had pledged financial help to create infrastructure for developing the INS Viraat warship museum provided it was set up at either Mangaluru or Karwar, both port cities of Karnataka”, said Karnataka State Coastal Development Authority president Mattaru Rathnakar Hegde.

He felt that both Karwar and Mangaluru were the right candidates for hosting the imposing INS Viraat as a warship museum.

“I was always saddened by the decision to break down Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat after its decommissioning. This followed an earlier similar decision on INS Vikrant. We in the armed forces are trained to salute and show our respect before stepping on them. Every soldier has an emotional attachment with his war machine” Capt Ganesh Karnik, an ex-army officer said.

Sources in the Defence ministry say the company that had sought restoration of the ship as a museum, wanted a No Objection Certificate, but it seems there is no such procedure as the ship which is decommissioned is not the property of armed forces.

This was seen in the case of INS Chapal warship museum at Karwar— the ship was handed over to the local administration for upkeep.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Mangaluru)