Mumbai: Vinod Pasricha is losing hope. Earlier this year, retired Indian Navy Vice Admiral had proposed that the recently decommissioned naval aircraft carrier INS Viraat be moored in Goa and turned into an international maritime centre for higher learning combined with a world-class naval museum, one which could turn into a revenue-earner for the state. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had backed the proposal after a meeting on June 8, offering to sanction ₹500 crore to give the ship a home in Mormugao harbour.
Admiral Pasricha has a special bond with the vessel: he was the first Indian to captain the former British carrier — it was once the HMS Hermes — after its commissioning into the Indian Navy. He also knows a thing or two about museums, having set up the Submarine Museum in Visakhapatnam, which won an award from the World Ship Trust, London, that listed it as one of the best in the world. But neither factor has helped push the idea along: he has heard nothing further from either the Ministry of Defence or the Goa CM.
And now other proposals have surfaced. The Maharashtra government is considering sinking the vessel off the western coast to serve as a diving destination. Alternatively, the state’s tourism minister, Jaykumar Rawal, wants the Viraat to be used as a maritime museum moored off Vasai-Virar, north of Mumbai. The Andhra Pradesh government is also interested in acquiring the ship to convert it into a hotel-cum-museum.
Despairing letter
Dismayed by the possibility that his proposal for a world-class maritime centre would lose out to commerce, Admiral Pasricha wrote to Mr. Parrikar (a copy is with The Hindu ) saying that “there could be an urgent need for you to project Goa’s interest with your friends in the cabinet.” In his letter, he reminded the CM that Andhra Pradesh wants to convert the ship into “a major 5-star hotel, with a small museum attached” at a cost of over ₹1,000 crore and of the two Maharashtra government proposals. His own proposal, he wrote, has an initial expense of just ₹50 crore, which included towing the ship to Goa and the work for the first phase of getting the ship ready. “This also envisages that in three years she would become self-generating and be able of recover all expenditure incurred,” he wrote. “We strongly believe that thereafter she would become a definite money-earner.” Subsequent phases, he says, could be implemented from funds generated by the ship.
The education such a maritime centre could impart is important, he says. “India has 1,200 islands and a maritime area which is even more that our land area. There will soon be need to teach our scientists and students how to exploit these to our advantage.” According to Admiral Pasricha, Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Girish Luthra had said that he may provide the project with two officers and 30 sailors who had served on the carrier for a three-year period. After which, Admiral Pasricha says, there are many retired navy personnel settled in Goa who could join the staff. As to the education offered, he suggests partnering with Goa University and National Institute of Oceanography for advanced maritime and underwater research; he has also been in touch with reputed universities abroad, like the California State University & Maritime Academy, the Australia Underwater Centre, and Singapore University, for courses and seminars relating to the maritime domain. He has offered the Goa government his services as a consultant for the project at no cost.
On it, says Parrikar
Mr. Parrikar said his government has already informed the Union Defence Ministry of Admiral Pasricha’s proposal, but was yet to get a reply. “I was the Defence Minister, so I am fully aware of the issue. Apart from us, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are there in it. If we don’t get any response by next month, I will pursue the matter with the Ministry of Defence,” Mr. Parrikar told The Hindu on Monday. “We are ready to spend on it. Mobilising that money is not at all the issue, because we know how to raise the requisite money without putting any burden on the State exchequer. I am very positive about the proposal.”
Jagdish Khokhar, a retired Navy captain who had served as a fighter pilot on the INS Vikrant and has attended meetings on the plans for Viraat , representing Admiral Pasricha, says that the Andhra Pradesh proposal would be a challenging task: “The east coast vagaries of weather would make the vessel’s stay quite a turbulent affair. And turning a naval vessel into a hotel would not exactly warm the cockles of the hearts of naval personnel in the country.” He says Admiral Pasricha’s proposal will produce better trained personnel than those currently coming out of ill-equipped marine training schools in the Goa belt.
“I remember the efforts to save the Vikrant went awry after a lot of initial supporting voices from the public and even political quarters,” Captain Khokhar says. “I earnestly hope the Viraat does not go the same way.”
