(Image source from: Twitter.com/YSRCParty)
Vizag's Floating Sea Bridge Delinked: What Happened?:- The sight of the broken pieces of the newly launched Floating Sea Bridge (FSB) floating away in the sea at Visakhapatnam beach caused quite a stir on social media and other platforms. Some individuals and media channels exacerbated the situation by suggesting that the bridge, which had just been opened on Sunday, remained closed the following day, implying that it was unsafe for tourists. A visitor who was near the bridge at the Kursura Submarine Museum on Monday reported seeing a team of bridge operators attempting to reattach the head of the T-shaped bridge to its stem. The visitor expressed confusion as there were no warning signs at the bridge site, leading them to believe that the bridge may have become detached. In response to the circulating pictures and videos on social media and media channels, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) issued a statement on Monday evening, clarifying that these images were not true.
On Monday (February 26), the bridge's operating team decided to withdraw their plans due to the unfavorable weather conditions, which included rough seas and high tidal waves. To assess the bridge's strength during these challenging conditions, the team separated the head part of the bridge, known as the viewpoint, from the stem and floated it on the sea at a distance. However, there were some individuals who took pictures of the empty space between the separated parts of the bridge and spread false information on social media and news channels, claiming that the bridge had detached or broken. Dr. Mallikarjuna, in response, clarified that this was not true. Delinking the T-part and base of the bridge is a routine procedure performed during abnormal sea conditions and is part of regular mock drills to test the bridge's resilience under different sea conditions.
The bridge was only opened on Sunday and will continue to undergo various tests in the upcoming days. To support their official statements, the VMRDA released footage of the team delinking the bridge. It is worth mentioning that the VMRDA initiated the project based on the pre-study report issued by the Centre for Studies on the Bay of Bengal, Andhra University. The bridge, which cost Rs 1.6 crore, was officially opened on Sunday (February 25) by Y.V. Subba Reddy, a Rajya Sabha member and North Andhra YSRC co-ordinator, along with his team. The inauguration ceremony drew a large crowd.
(Video Source: NTV Telugu)
