Visitors to Mamallapuram, the historic coastal town 60 km from Chennai, have a new sight to behold in the past few days, besides the world famous shore temple. It is the decommissioned submarine INS Vagli that is being readied to be mounted on a specially constructed stage on the southern side of the temple.
Over the next few days, the project will gather pace. The submarine will be mounted on the platform using air balloons that will heave the vessel on to a makeshift track and set it up 200 metres from the shore.
Work will then begin to make it a permanent exhibition, showcasing the State’s maritime history, starting from the Sangam Era.
The submarine arrived at the tourist town from Chennai last Sunday.
However, weather conditions prevented its shifting from the sea to the stage. It was docked in Chennai for nearly 13 months, awaiting Coastal Regulation Zone clearance, after Tamil Nadu sought the vessel to set up the museum.
The Vela-class diesel-electric submarine was decommissioned in December 2010 after it served the Navy for 36 years.
It was transported from Visakhapatnam to Chennai in March 2013.
Visakhapatnam is the first city in the country to have a similar facility, where INS Kurusura has been converted into a submarine museum.
INS Vagli runs to a length of 299.6 feet, has a beam of 24.7 feet and draught of 19.8 feet.
