Vikrant For lorn, But Hope Near

Galaxy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
7,086
Likes
3,934
Country flag
Vikrant Forlorn, But Hope Near

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011

It was pitiful to see the historic INS Vikrant aircraft carrier at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai. The navy looks after her with diligence and affection (and to the extent that it can), but government apathy and a failure to recognize the aircraft carrier's -- formerly HMS Hercules -- historic importance has resulted in the ship standing listlessly inside Tiger Gate, open to visitors only at limited points of time every year. The navy maintains the museum ship from its funds, but this is clearly an unsustainable proposition (and has been for years -- 14 since the ship was decommissioned). Apparently the navy still needs a corpus of funds to generate enough for basic maintenance of the vessel. But I was told there's been movement: two companies have come forward to undertake a Rs 500-crore public-private effort to refurbish the vessel, convert it into a full-fledged museum and monetize the entire undertaking. The company that wins the bid will apparently partner with the Maharashtra Urban Infrastructure Development Company and Municipal Corporation to begin work, already delayed way beyond reason. A mixture of red tape, apathy, security sensitivities, turf battles, egos and skepticism about public interest in the vessel have resulted in the unforgivable delay in keeping Vikrant alive. Let's hope it happens now.

Livefist: Vikrant Forlorn, But Hope Near
 

pmaitra

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
33,262
Likes
19,593
I went to see this marvel, but the gate keeper told me I had to come back in August. Why don't they make it a year round museum and make more money out of it?

I did eventually visit one in NYC.



ACatNY.JPG
 

Ray

The Chairman
Professional
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
43,132
Likes
23,834
Make the deck a floating restaurant with all naval protocol.

Proper dress code to make it exclusive!

The remainder a museum.

It should be anchored out on the far end of the harbour making it a great experience for the landlubber with fat pockets!
 

warriorextreme

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Messages
1,866
Likes
3,033
Country flag
from outside it looks as good as new...if they keep it in water forever it wont last long..
[COLOR=#fafafa !important]

[/COLOR]​
 

sesha_maruthi27

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
3,963
Likes
1,803
Country flag
Vikrant Forlorn, But Hope Near












It was pitiful to see the historic INS Vikrant aircraft carrier at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai. The navy looks after her with diligence and affection (and to the extent that it can), but government apathy and a failure to recognize the aircraft carrier's -- formerly HMS Hercules -- historic importance has resulted in the ship standing listlessly inside Tiger Gate, open to visitors only at limited points of time every year. The navy maintains the museum ship from its funds, but this is clearly an unsustainable proposition (and has been for years -- 14 since the ship was decommissioned). Apparently the navy still needs a corpus of funds to generate enough for basic maintenance of the vessel. But I was told there's been movement: two companies have come forward to undertake a Rs 500-crore public-private effort to refurbish the vessel, convert it into a full-fledged museum and monetize the entire undertaking. The company that wins the bid will apparently partner with the Maharashtra Urban Infrastructure Development Company and Municipal Corporation to begin work, already delayed way beyond reason. A mixture of red tape, apathy, security sensitivities, turf battles, egos and skepticism about public interest in the vessel have resulted in the unforgivable delay in keeping Vikrant alive. Let's hope it happens now.

Photos / Shiv Aroor

Livefist
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top