Watch: Floating bridge gets washed away in India’s Andhra Pradesh hours after inauguration

A floating bridge in India’s Andhra Pradesh state came apart just one day after it was inaugurated by a lawmaker of the state’s ruling party. The bridge was installed at RK Beach in Visakhapatnam on Sunday and was inaugurated by Y.V. Subba Reddy, a member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament, from YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

Fortunately, the incident resulted in no casualties as no one was on the bridge when a part of it got detached and floated away.

The 100-metre bridge was opened to ‘offer visitors a unique opportunity to venture into the sea and enjoy a panoramic view of the coastline’.

Reacting to the incident, the state’s opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu condemned the government for ‘putting people’s lives at risk.’

Taking to X, the head of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) said, “Like all of Jagan Reddy's development ventures, this one couldn't stand the weight of his corruption and got washed away. Hours after it was inaugurated, this floating bridge in Vizag, which the YSRCP government thought was fit for public use, collapsed. The brazen apathy with which this government has put people's lives at risk for PR marks a new low in politics and governance.”

The state government touted the bridge as its commitment to promoting tourism in the city.

District collector A. Mallikarjuna earlier claimed that all standards were being put in place to ensure the safety of tourists, including the presence of trained personnel on the bridge. He claimed that there will be a regulation on the number of visitors who can be on the bridge at a time.

Under precautionary measures, it was decided that the bridge would be open to the public only during specific operating hours.

Users on social media also came down heavily on the government for the failure. “Whoever inaugurated this should resign for their failure. Not sure whether they conducted any dry run before inauguration,” said one user.

(With inputs from agencies)