CHENNAI: After efforts to bring ashore decommissioned submarine INS Vagli failed in Mamallapuram, a propal has been made to dredge sea to take it ashore.
Tradex Shipping Corporation made the proposal to dredge the sea to create an artificial canal through which the submarine will be shifted onshore and mounted on a platform near the Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A technical committee will decide on the proposal by the end of the month or early next month, a tourism department official said.
The government plans to set up a maritime heritage museum on the submarine once it is taken ashore. It will showcase the maritime history of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam era till the end of the 20th century AD.
Rough sea along the Mamallapuram coast had forced the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) to think of an alternative plan after the effort to shift the submarine onshore using steel plates in the sea bed cushioned by airbags failed.The submarine was stationed at Chennai Port for more than a year and TTDC has already spent `3 crore for its maintenance.
“Once the new plan gets green light, we will soon have Vagli mounted on the platform,” the official said.