Amid the ongoing row over the collapse of the Vizag floating bridge, the Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday firmly refuted claims that a part of the bridge, which was inaugurated at the beach on February 25, collapsed withing hours of unveiling. The state government instead maintained that the incident was part of a mock drill.
On February 25, the floating bridge was inaugurated on the popular R K Beach by senior YSRCP leader and Rajya Sabha member Y V Subba Reddy.
Unfortunately, within 24 hours several videos and images of a collapsed part of the bridge floating in the sea went viral.
What did the govt say?
While explaining the bridge collapse incident, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) said,"Due to the high tides, the T shaped viewing point of the bridge has been detached and kept near the anchors to check its stability. But some people clicked pictures of the gap between the bridge and the detached viewing point and alleged that the floating bridge was broken, which is false."
VMRDA further mentioned that the detachment of the bridge was a part of a mock drill. It has been told that such separation is a standard technical procedure followed to determine the strength of the structure during strong ocean currents.
The state-assigned development authority also stated that that it will continue to detach the viewpoint in the future as well, whenever needed as part of mock drills.
Though the government wanted to allow tourists on the bridge from Monday, it prevented them, citing change in weather and strong ocean currents, the release added.
Opposition slams Andhra govt
Meanwhile, the Opposition TDP party left no stone unturned to amplify the matter in a bid to put pressure on the government. Retaliating to the false allegations, Industries Minister G Amarnath hit out at TDP, saying it was indulging in fake propaganda.
