INS Viraat may also go under hammer

New Delhi: After rendering over 30 years of yeoman service under the Indian Navy's flag, the fate of aircraft carrier INS Viraat may also be the same as of its predecessor INS Vikrant, which ultimately was scrapped. Talking to television news channels at the decommissioning ceremony held in Mumbai yesterday, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba clearly indicated that the mighty aircraft carrier will be scrapped in absence of a feasible proposal.

 "If we don't have a concrete doable proposal then we will scrap it," the Navy Chief told NewsX. He said the Navy wanted it to be converted into a maritime museum and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had offered it to all the coastal state governments. But the Navy got a response only from Andhra Pradesh government. "We had an offer from Andhra Pradesh government. AP government has asked for 50-50? (cost of converting INS Viraat into a museum).

But that was not the proposal," he said. He said this proposal was also not heading to the logical conclusion. To a question how the ship can be save and preserved , he said there was a proposal in his mind to sink the ship and make it a tourist diving spot either at East or the West coast. Although, he did not elaborate what happened to this idea. (UNI)