Chief minister to receive TU-142M aircraft today in special ceremony

VISAKHAPATNAM: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will receive TU-142M, one of the long range Maritime Patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy which was de-inducted from active service after its 29 years of service, here on Saturday.

Along with him, Civil Aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral HCS Bisht will receive the  aircraft when it lands for the final time at INS Dega. A special ceremony is scheduled to be held at INS Dega. 

The aircraft would land at INS Dega from INS Rajali, the air station of Indian Navy at Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu. District authorities are busy to complete the procedures to convert the aircraft into a museum in the city on the lines of Kursura Submarine Museum on the Beach Road. If everything goes as planned, Vizagites will have another maritime museum by June on the Beach Road.

“The tenders for shifting the aircraft were finalised on Friday. It would take two to three months for rest of the procedures and we hope to complete them by end-June.

The aircraft could be at the allocated site on the Beach Road. We would also call museum-related tenders,” said district collector Pravin Kumar when Express contacted him.

The TU-142M aircraft is the heaviest, fastest and highest flying Turbo prop in the world which had been the mainstay of long range maritime reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Operations of the Indian Navy for close to three decades. 

CM to present ex gratia

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister will be interacting with the family members of the NAD personnel, reported missing in the Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft in July 2016. He would  also present an ex gratia of `5 lakh, sanctioned by the state government, to each bereaved family.