Vizag: Hailing from Yedugundlapadu, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, Professor Madhavi Latha is the first engineer ever from the area. She is among one of the brilliant technical minds behind the Chenab Rail Bridge — the world’s tallest railway bridge — inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this Friday.
Youngest of the four siblings, Madhavi hails from a family of farmers and she completed her entire schooling in government school. She had aspirations to become a doctor however, with limited resources, her parents suggested to take up engineering as it was more affordable.
Madhavi pursued her BTech from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Andhra Pradesh, followed by MTech at NIT Warangal, a PhD from IIT Madras, and a post-doctorate in rock engineering from IISc. Now, she has been teaching at IISc since 2003 and also chairs its Centre for Sustainable Technologies.
It’s worth mentioning here that her association with the Chenab Bridge project began in 2005 and lasted until its completion in 2022. She started her professional journey working with Professor TG Sitharam, former professor at IISc Bangalore and former director at IIT Guwahati. Professor TG Sitharam currently serves as Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education. Madhavi, later, independently served as a rock engineering specialist to Northern Railways through Afcons Limited as a consultant where she focused on one of the most critical aspects of the bridge — ensuring slope stability and designing geotechnical safety systems for the foundations.
Her role is quite instrumental as the bridge lies in the Lower Himalayan region. One of the most tectonically active regions, the Lower Himalaya is a geologically complex zone with the terrain consisting of steep, fractured rock slopes. The loose soil makes it prone to frequent seismic activity.
The water has a high erosive force. The narrow valleys increase the risk of landslides and slope failure. Thus, constructing a structure of this scale, with a 359-metre-high steel arch, on such terrain required extensive geotechnical planning. Madhavi’s work involved detailed analysis of slope conditions. It also involved designing stabilisation techniques like rock anchors, bolts, and retaining systems. It ensures the foundation could resist both gravity and environmental stress.
