Karwar Naval museum no more in ship-shape

[email protected] (CD Network)
August 7, 2011

naval

Karwar, August 7: INS?Chapal, the museum ship docked at the Rabindranath Tagore beach since November 2006, is slowly disintegrating part by part due to lack of proper maintenance.

In view of the Naval Base being set up in Karwar, the Defence Ministry handed over the missile boat to the district administration.

Commissioned by the Indian Navy in 1976 and decommissioned in 2005, INS?Chapal patrolled the Indian sea coast. The 245-tonne ship (on full load) has a length of 38.6 metres, beam of 7.6 metres and speed of 37 knots.

Ship rusting

The task of maintaining the museum ship was vested in the Bal Bhavan Committee under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner. But negligence on the part of the Bal Bhavan, has left the ship rusting.

Exposed to constant heat and rain, the ship has started leaking and water is seeping into the engine room, control room, radar room, kitchen and commander's room, and the equipment inside them are rusting.

As the Bal Bhavan Committee does not have enough funds for the maintenance of the museum ship, it was handed over to the district administration on July 12. With the available funds, the administration has managed to cover the ship with a plastic cover.

Visitors to the ship museum have to pay an entrance fee. It has been estimated that over the last six years about Rs 25 lakh has been collected as entrance fees.


Except for spending money on cleaning the garden around the museum and staff salaries, no other expenditure has been made.

The ship is an object of study for students of mechanical and electrical engineering from engineering colleges and polytechnics.

Video presentation

Visitors to the museum are treated to a video presentation on the big screen which is informative and gives details of the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971, when INS Chapal destroyed the Karachi harbour beyond recognition forcing Pakistan to surrender.

However, the video presentations have been cancelled for the four months after the projector developed a glitch and no efforts are being made to repair it.

Vinay, a visitor to the museum ship, was disappointed that he could not see the ship as it is now covered with plastic. “I had come with great enthusiasm only to be disappointed”, he said.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Chikkamagaluru, Feb 21: Alleged Bharatiya Janata Party supporters threw stones at Amulya Leona’s father’s house at Gullagadde near Koppa on Thursday night, after she was charged for making objectionable remarks at a public programme in Bengaluru.

Amulya Leona’s father Wazi said that the incident, which left window panes and doors damaged, took place at around 7.30 p.m. “They are all BJP supporters. They were in a group. I have complained to the police with the names of a few who led the group,” he said.

Three policemen have been deployed at his house since Thursday night.

Amulya Leona, a B.A. student, was charged with sedition after she raised pro-Pakistan slogans at a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Bengaluru.

Mr. Wazi, who owns a two-acre areca plantation and runs a poultry farm, said he condemned the statement made by his daughter and he would not make any attempts to get her bail. “Let the law take its course. I cannot approve of her statement,” he said.

He said he had cautioned his daughter against getting involved in protests. “I told her to complete studies first and later she could fight for poor people. But what she said yesterday is not acceptable. I don’t know what made her so. I hope a probe would bring out who prompted her to make such statements,” he said.

Mr. Wazi said he has been politically active for several years, and had earlier worked for former education minister H.G. Govinde Gowda. He then shifted to the BJP and worked in support of D.N. Jeevaraj, who represented Sringeri constituency last time, and current Udupi-Chickmagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje. “I have worked for the BJP in the past. As Govinde Gowda’s son contested on JD(S) ticket for Sringeri seat, I supported him”, he said.

Meanwhile, a video clip that went viral on Thursday night showed a group of Bajrang Dal activists compelling Mr. Wazi to shout ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. “I have no hesitation in raising ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans,” said Mr. Wazi, adding that his statement was taken forcibly. “I am a patriot. Many writers, activists and politicians have come to my place over the years,” he said.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Thrissur, Feb 11: The latest test result of the woman medical student, who arrived here from China's Wuhan region and was the first positive case from India for the novel Coronavirus (nCoV), has come out negative, health officials said on Monday.

Her condition was "stable", they said.

According to the state health department as of now, 31 people are in isolation wards across various hospitals in the state.

"The blood test result of the first patient from Thrissur, from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) testing centre at Alappuzha, shows a negative result.

But we need confirmation from the NIV at Pune," a senior medical officer told news agency.

After the first positive case was reported from Thrissur, two other Keralite students from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, had tested positive in Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts.

The health department had earlier said those in isolation wards of various hospitals in the state have come down to 34.

"A total of 3,367 are under observation across the state, of which 3,336 are under home quarantine," a release issued by the health department said.

The department has already sent at least 364 samples for testing at the NIV at Pune and so far 337 results have returned negative.

The ''state calamity'' alert, which was declared on February 3, was withdrawn on Friday after no new positive cases of infection were detected.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Hassan, Feb 2: Former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda has said that the controversy over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act should be resolved peacefully through discussion.

Speaking to reporters in Halebeed on Saturday, Gowda said that the Act affects only Muslims but would also prove troublesome for the Hindus. “Opening fire on anti-CAA protesters is the not solution to the issue,” he said.

Deve Gowda said that during his tenure as prime minister a number of problems concerning Muslims were addressed. “But, in the run up to election, Rahul Gandhi described us ‘B’ team of BJP. This led to vote swing,” he added. When his comment was sought on the budget, the former prime minister said that he had not yet read the budget document.

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