Save Vikrant Committee to meet surface transport minister

8220;We will inform the minister that saving the ship is far more important than arguing over an appropriate site,8221; Paigankar said. The committee will request the union government to take urgent measures to prevent further decay of the warship.

The committee will also appeal to Mumbai Port Trust MbPT officials to take a speedy decision to convert the decommissioned warship into a national monument. A decision on granting the Jamshedji Bunder site is likely to be taken by the Mumbai Port Trust MbPT at its next board meeting on Friday, which also marks the 125th year celebrations of the porttrust.

On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi reiterated the state government8217;s commitment to convert the decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant into a maritime museum-cum-helipad. Joshi stated that though there was a dispute over the project site, he was hopeful of a positive outcome and of the project taking shape. The project will take off at a feasible site only, he stated.

Meanwhile, fishermen have warned the state government of strikes and rasta rokos if the Jamshedji Bunder site near Radio Club was given to the navy to permanently berth the decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant.

Announcing this at a press conference, Damodar Tandel, President of the Akhil Maharashtra Machchimar Kriti Samiti, said the site was being used by fisherfolk for generations. 8220;Berthing the Vikrant warship here will severely hurt the livelihood of thousands of fisherfolk,8221; he said.

However, he clarified that the fishermen were not opposed to the Vikrant museum project, but the choice of JamshedjiBunder site for permanently berthing the carrier.

Tandel suggested alternative sites for berthing the Vikrant, south of the Radio Club location at Oyster Rock or near the Training Ship Jawahar. The navy is already considering this alternative site based on a recommendation by the state government. President of the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation S R Kulkarni, who also addressed the conference, pledged the support of MbPT unions to the fisherfolk agitation.

Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief and South Mumbai MP Murli Deora, has also come out in protest against the location chosen for the project. In a letter to Defence Minister George Fernandes and to CM Manohar Joshi, Deora has stated that the grouting of the ship at the proposed site will involve rock-blasting, which is likely to endanger the foundations of nearby buildings.

Fishermen who earned their livelihood from the neighbouring areas were likely to be threatened, since the proposed project would have its impact on marine lifetoo, he pointed out. Moreover, the Gateway of India monument, situated nearby, was in the protected list, and the project, if implemented, would mar the beauty of the entire area, stated Deora.