KARWAR: Karwar may soon get its second warship museum. The district already hosts INS Chapal warship museum at Ravindranath Tagore beach.
The state government is planning to get the Tupolev-142M aircraft to Karnataka, after its decommissioning from service. The aircraft will be converted into a museum and installed next to the INS Chapal museum.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Defence Minister Arun Jaitley requesting him to hand over the aircraft. If the Union government agrees to give the craft, it will give a major boost to tourism in the state.
The Tupolev-142M, a maritime patrol aircraft, was used in anti-submarine warfare. It was the fastest aircraft in its size when in operation.
In the letter to Jaitley, which is available with Express, Siddaramaiah has said: “For the Sea Bird project (Karwar Naval Base), the Uttara Kannada district administration handed over 11,334 acres of land to the Navy. Since the naval base is near Karwar, the maintenance and monitoring of Tupolev-142M craft will be easier. If the aircraft is installed near the existing warship museum, it will help in attracting tourists due to its strategic location and proximity to Goa.”
Last year, state government tried to get INS Viraat, which was decommissioned to make it a warship museum either in Mangaluru or Karwar.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu played a vital role to take the ship to Vizag in AP. However, the Defence Ministry is yet to clear the project.
