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[ROUDRAM]

INS Chapal, an Osa-II class Russian-built missile boat, has been decommissioned after 24 years of service and has been confined to its resting place on the picturesque Rabindranath Tagore beach in Karwar. But for the past two years, the ‘unsinkable’ missile boat was showing signs of degeneration due to the saline air of the coast.
Following an article published by DNA on May 5, 2011, the district administration, Karwar City Municipal Council and Kadamba Naval Base embarked on a mission to restore the ship.
Uttara Kannada deputy commissioner BN Krishnaiah said: “The district administration, after coming to know that the ship was degenerating, alerted the naval base to take care of the ship. The administration had no means, resources or technical expertise to carry out the restoration. I visited the ship and found out that the ship was indeed degenerating due to leakage and metal fatigue at several places,” he told [i]DNA[/i].
The Kadamba Naval Base wanted to start the restoration work in May, but due to the monsoon, it could not be done. Last week, the restoration work began and it will be completed in the next fortnight, said a naval officer.
“Several parts of the ship have been rotting due to leakage of the cabin roof and engine room; they are being fixed now. Once the leakage stops, the ship’s main structure will be sealed off against further damage,” added the officer.
Karwar City Municipal Council president Ganapathy Dumma Ulvekar told[i]DNA [/i]that the municipality has begun sprucing up the garden and other structures in the maritime museum. The municipality took custody of the museum from the Uttara Kannada district Bal Bhavan committee in June.
The ship was decommissioned on May 5, 2005. It served the Indian Navy for 24 years and was active during the 1971 war against Pakistan. But ever since it has become a museum piece, it had only one maintenance check, back in 2009. The captain’s cabin, open bridge and first officer’s cabin are leaking and the deck was creaking as people walked on it. This was due to the decaying and weakening of the metal structure under the floor cladding.
“During vacations, we receive tourists from all parts of south and western India. They have great interest in every portion of the ship. When I tell them the ship had taken part in the war against Pakistan and one of four missile launchers targeted land targets in Pakistan, they get excited and pat the ship’s missile launcher admiringly,” said an attendant of the ship’s guided-tour programme.
[url="http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_sinking-on-land-ins-chapal-to-be-restored-to-former-glory_1603201"]http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_sinking-on-land-ins-chapal-to-be-restored-to-former-glory_1603201[/url]