Visakhapatnam’s Floating Sea Bridge delinked for maintenance, says VMRDA official

Visakhapatnam's Floating Sea Bridge sparks controversy on social media, debunked by officials due to weather conditions.

Picture of the broken pieces of the newly launched Floating Sea Bridge (FSB) seen drifting away in the sea at the Visakhapatnam beach triggered a flutter of comments on social media and other platforms on Monday.

A section of people and media channels have added fuel to the fire by saying that the bridge, which was launched only on Sunday (February 25), remained closed the next day and that indicates that the FSB ride could be unsafe for tourists.

A visitor who was spotted near the bridge at the Kursura Submarine Museum point on Monday stated that around noon on Monday, he found a team of bridge operators trying to attach the head part of the T-shaped bridge to its stem.

“I don’t know what happened to the bridge on Monday. There were no warning boards displayed at the bridge site. We thought the bridge might have delinked,” the visitor said.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) clarified on Monday evening that there is no truth in the pictures and videos that went viral on social media platforms and media channels. VMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr A. Mallikarjuna said that they had planned to open the bridge to the public on Monday (February 26), but it was withdrawn later due to the unfavourable weather conditions of rough seas and high tidal waves.

The operating team of the bridge separated the head part of the bridge, which is the viewpoint, from the stem and floated it on the sea at some distance to observe its strength during the harsh sea conditions.

“Some people took photos of the empty space between the separated parts of the bridge and propagated fake news that the bridge was detached or broken, on social media and news channels. But this is not true. Delinking the T-part and base of the bridge is a regular task during abnormal sea conditions and part of the frequent mock drills to test the bridge under various sea conditions. We have only opened it on Sunday, and it will undergo several tests in the coming days as well,” clarified Dr. Mallikarjuna.