TU 142 M aircraft to land in city on April 8

Visakhapatnam: Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and public representatives are to receive the recently decommissioned TU 142M aircraft at INS Dega on April 8.Eastern Naval Command chief Vice Admiral HCS Bisht and Union minister for civil aviation P Ashok Gajapati Raju will also be present on the occasion.

At the event, the CM will hand over ex-gratia amount to five families of those who went missing in AN 32 aircraft near Chennai in July last year.The aircraft would come from INS Rajali, the air station of Indian Navy in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu.District authorities have already completed the technical evaluation of tenders for converting the aircraft into a museum in the city on the lines of Kursura Submarine Museum at Beach Road. Financial bid is to be opened on April 6 to finalise the bidder. Sources said five companies participated in the bid.

The museum is to be located on an acre site beside the AU Convention Centre on Beach Road.Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (Vuda) vice-chairman T Baburao Naidu told TOI that parking area for the AU Convention Centre will not be affected although one wing of the aircraft will extend into the parking area. The aircraft's wings are about 12 to 15 meters in height.

"The aircraft would be dismantled at INS Dega before being shifted to the site. The entire work of dismantling and assembling will take 30 to 45 days," the Vuda VC said."The aircraft would be placed on a strong surface to be constructed at the site before it is assembled and converted into a museum. It would be anchored with tight support," tourism regional executive director B Sriramulu Naidu said.

A five member Naval crew would accompany the aircraft. Naval authorities would provide technical expertise in the project worth Rs 10 crore. The weapons inside the aircraft — Sono buoys, gun, torpedoes, depth charge — are likely to be on display, sources said."Naval experts will clear the space for the convenience of the public to visit the air craft by recommending various issues. Once the aircraft is moved to site, commercial aspects such as ticketing will be discussed," a senior Navy officer said.