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Grounded ship still waiting to be turned into a restaurant

The plan to promote tourism on the beachfront in Visakhapatnam by converting the 'Maa' into a floating restaurant still remained on hold. Though the State government had declared an allotment of Rs 10 crore for the project, it was yet to take some shape due to procedural wrangle in getting clearance from environmental point of view. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) had also tied up with Shore & Ship Resorts Private Repair Ltd. to make necessary alterations within the vessel at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. Green activists said that the continuation of the ship just close to Tenneti Park, a popular venue for the localities and tourists in the city, was an environmental risk. The State government explored various options to make the ship fit by redesigning to convert it into a restaurant as part of an effort to promote beach tourism. However, delay in getting clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, clearance under the Coastal Regular Zone (CRZ) guidelines and other authorities turned the project jinxed. Report with photo: https://www.bizzbuzz.news/national/bid-to-convert-abandoned-bdesh-ship-into-floating-restaurant-turns-jinxed-1317293

Conversion into restaurant still waiting to take place

More than three years have passed since the 'M.V. Maa' ran aground at the beach Tenneti Park, in Visakhapatnam, on October 13, 2020, due to adverse weather conditions under the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal. Due to high salvage costs, the ship owners did not take it back, and the vessel was left on the city’s beach. The ship’s fuel was emptied and it has been left to rust and decay. As there was no objection from the ship owners, the State government announced that it would be converted into a restaurant as part of efforts to develop the city as a tourism hub. In the first week of December 2021, the then Tourism Minister Muthamsetty Srinivasa Rao said that the works on the restaurant had started and tourists would be allowed after three weeks. After the announcement, the tourist excitement continued, but only for a few months. After Mr. Srinivasa Rao’s tenure ended, his succesor R.K. Roja directed the officials to take up the project works forward. A Vizag-based company, Gill Marines, is believed to have bought the ship for ₹1.25 crore from the insurer PNI Club (North of England). To make the project possible, the tourism department had to facilitate a road and other clearances from its end. The Tourism Department had sought clearances from Forest and CRZ authorities to take the project forward, but it had so far received clearance only from the Forest Department and is awaiting clearance from the CRZ officials. Apart from this, the tenure of the new AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) board also ended recently, and a new body that would be formed in the next few weeks is likely to discuss the project. The Tourism Department approached the Forest Department for using forest land to build a road from the beach road to the ship. It also submitted a Differential Global Positioning System survey for permission to construct a road from Jodugullapalem to the ship basement area. Officials have given permission to use 0.55 hectares of forest land for road purposes of the tourism project.They inspected the place in June 2023 and sent a report to their superiors in Vijayawada. According to the forest rules, if less than one hectare of forest land is used, there is no land to compensate for the land, but the tourism department has to pay the `Net Present Value’ to the forest department. Report with photo: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/andhra-pradesh-will-the-tide-turn-for-the-ship-that-ran-aground-in-vizag/article67469917.ece

Conversion plans gain momentum

Works to convert the 'Maa' that ran aground at Tenneti Park Beach, into a restaurant has been gaining momentum as the DGPS survey of Jodugullapalem and the vessel was completed. Gill Marines had come forward to develop the ship as a restaurant through an SPV exclusively created for the purpose. The plan to lay a pathway from Jodugullapalem to Tenneti Park Beach had hit a roadblock as a forest clearance was required. For the forest clearance, a DGPS survey was necessary and also equivalent land had to be alienated for the forest department. He added district Collector A Mallikharjuna on Apil 30, 2022, issued orders for advance possession of 1.5 acres in Sontyam. DGPS survey of the 1.5 acres alienated for the forest department will also be done to get a clearance. The Vizag-based SV Enviro has been hired for getting environment clearances and was conducting DGPS surveys. For CRZ clearance, a remote sensing map is being prepared by the National Institute of Oceanography. Later, the remote sensing map will be sent to the NIO office in Pune. Forest clearance and remote sensing maps are expected within a week, while the CRZ clearance will be given within two months.