MSU architecture student has designs on the INS Vikrant

MSU architecture student has designs on the INS Vikrant
SWATI MAZUMDER

VADODARA, JULY 10: After much debate, it has finally been decided to convert INS Vikrant into a museum. Should the Defence Minister need a plan on how, he need look no furthur than M S University's Architecture department, where a student has submitted a thesis on the redesigning of the ship.

Himanshu Pathak has been working on the project for the past six months. ``The idea of redesigning the ship struck me after seeing the examples of ships like the Wasa warship in Sweden, which had been lying in similar condition and was later converted into a Boston Tea Party museum,'' he says.

Pathak adds that this ship, too, could be dry-docked and re-modelled into a museum. ``We have to ensure that the ground floor of the ship does not get corroded further, as it is this part upon which the whole structure of the ship depends,'' says Pathak.

The thesis visualises redesigning the first-floor to incorporate recreational facilities and a youth hostel. ``The project also envisages a colony on the desret island near the ship. A workshop can be set up in the island, which could be used for the redesigning work by the experts, '' says Pathak.

The workshop should be near so that work could be taken up in case of any emergency in the ship, he says. The colony would have all the facilities to assist the technical teams in the workshop.

Though Pathak had other options for his thesis, he preferred INS Vikrant as, according to him, it embodied our ancient war heritage. ``We can't let the ship die. It is so important for the country,'' he says. The student further claims that he had talked to the Naval authorities in Mumbai about his thesis, and they had shown interest in it. ``They have asked me to submit the report to them along with the model,'' he claims.