Fact Check: Is the AP government trying to change Bhavani Island into Mary Island?

Hyderabad: BJP leader Raja Singh took to Twitter to share an image, and noted that Bhavani Island is changing into "Mary Island". The picture featured an arch entrance with some traditional painting alongside a drawing of Mother Mary. Raj Singh also commented that the AP Government recently added the Mother Mary image to the arch entrance of Bhavani Island.

Others have shared the image in the microblogging site as well as Facebook.

Fact Check

Bhavani Island is situated amidst Krishna River, near Vijayawada. This island is located close to the famous Durga Temple in Vijayawada. AP Tourism Development Corporation has taken initiatives and developed this spot to attract tourists. The island is renowned for its resorts, sporting activities, museum, ropeway etc. The local populace also visits the place for picnics and other events.

NewsMeter checked various videos and images belonging to Bhavani Island in Vijayawada, to find this related image. However, the previous version of the image, which doesn't have Mother Mary's drawing, was not seen online.

A Facebook user posted this image in June 2019 stating that it is one of the entrance gates of Haritha BERM Park at Bhavanipuram, Vijayawada. If the image is observed, it can be seen that there is an image of Mother Mary on the entrance. As this image has been shared in June 2019, it is not a recent development.

Apart from Durga Temple, Vijayawada is also famous for Gunadala Mary Matha Temple. Thousands of devotees visit the church, and it is considered as a significant tourist attraction. Hence, the image of Mother Mary must have been on the entrance gate from the beginning.

There is no news about Bhavani Island's name being changed to Mary Island in either Telugu or English media recently. Hence, the image from Haritha BERM Park is being passed off as the arch entrance of Bhavani Island. The claim that the government is tampering with Bhavani Island structures and is trying to change the name to Mary Island is FALSE.

Claim: AP Government is changing the structures of Bhavani Island situated near Vijayawada to make it into Mary Island

Claims by: Twitter, Facebook accounts

Fact check: The image of the entrance of BERM Park in Bhavanipuram, Vijayawada is being passed off as Bhavani Island. This is NOT the entrance of Bhavani Island.

The above claim is FALSE.

Also Read: https://newsmeter.in/much-ado-about-half-helmets/