Mumbai, May 13: The Indian Navy's pride and country's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, now transformed into a maritime museum, might soon land up at the scrapyard if the Navy fails to garner Rs five crore immediately to keep the decommissioned ship afloat. The hull portion of the ship was constantly deteriorating and needed immediate attention, Vice-Admiral Arun Prakash, flag officer commanding-in-chief, Western Naval Command, told reporters here today at his maiden press conference after taking over the new posting. "If the ship fails to undergo repair and maintenance work in the coming six months, the Navy will be forced to sell it as scrap," Prakash said. INS Vikrant, which was commissioned in the Indian Navy on February 16, 1961 and played a stellar role during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, was decommissioned in 1997 after serving the Navy for nearly 40 years. However, while the ship was awaiting final disposal, the Maharashtra government, following public demand, had offered to convert it into a maritime museum and had sanctioned Rs five crore which was used for setting up the museum.

The ship's hull on which minimal work was carried out in 2000, now once again needs attention. Vikrant was brought inside the Naval dockard on February 11, 2003 for maintenance work and is now awaiting funds for the same.

The Navy has approached the state government for garnering funds.

"I met Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde recently who showed a positive response. However, we are still waiting for funds," Vice-Admiral Prakash said.

Bureau Report