By M S Nazki
Remember the name Gali Madhavi Latha, the woman behind the construction of the highest bridge over the Chenab, ‘Chandra Bhagha’ in local parlance!
-Gali Madhavi Latha is an Indian academic and researcher in the field of geotechnical engineering. She is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and chair of the Centre for Sustainable Technologie at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
– Her research is focused on various subfields of geotechnical engineering, including soil reinforcement, geosynthetics, and rock mechanics. She contributed to the construction of Chenab Rail Bridge, the highest rail bridge in the world.
-Latha earned her Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Civil Engineering in 1992 from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, graduating with first class and distinction.
– She went on to obtain her Master of Technology (M.Tech) in Geotechnical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, where she received a gold medal for academic excellence. She completed her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the IIT Madras in 2000.
-Following her doctoral studies, Latha conducted postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science from 2002 to 2003. She subsequently served as an assistant professor at IIT Guwahati from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, she joined the Indian Institute of Science as a faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering.
-At IISc, she served at various academic positions and became a professor. Over the years, she has supervised numerous graduate students and contributed to geotechnical engineering education and research in India.
-Latha’s research primarily focuses on the mechanics of soil and ground reinforcement. Her work has included experimental and analytical investigations of soil-reinforcement interaction, especially the frictional behavior at sand-geosynthetic interfaces.
– She has applied image-based techniques to analyze micro-topographical surface changes in geosynthetics under shear and to correlate these changes with stress-displacement behavior.
-She has also worked on geocell-reinforced soils, conducting model tests on foundations, retaining walls, and slopes. Her research covers cyclic load response of geosynthetic-reinforced aggregates used in road construction and the seismic behavior of various types of retaining structures through shaking table studies.
-In rock engineering, her interests include the numerical modeling of jointed rock masses, the stability of rock slopes, and rock slope reinforcement strategies.
-Latha played an advisory role in the construction of the Chenab Rail Bridge, an infrastructure project located in the Himalayas. Given the region’s complex geology, weather extremes, and inaccessibility, her team employed a “design-as-you-go” strategy, adapting to in-situ geological variations such as fractured rock formations and hidden cavities.
-Her contributions included the design and placement of rock anchors to enhance structural stability, enabling safe construction in highly variable rock mass conditions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge touted to be the world’s highest railway arch bridge, a couple of days ago. The inauguration underscores a landmark moment in India’s infrastructure journey.
The bridge towering 359 mts tall above the Chenab river, exceeds the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It connects the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. The world’s highest railway arch bridge is 1,315 mts long. It consists of a 530-mt long approach bridge, 785-mt deck arch bridge.
It would be surprising to know that this iconic bridge built in the northern part of India has a south connection, and with Andhra Pradesh in particular.
Fifty Four-year-old Prof. Madhavi Latha, of the Indian Institute of Science, worked on the project for 17 long years. From 2005, when she joined the IISc to 2022, when she took her family to the place where the bridge was being built, she was completely involved in its construction and other aspects.
She said: “Working on this project has been the experience of a lifetime.”
The steel structure can endure extremes of weather conditions like temperatures as low as -20 degree Celsius and wind speeds of 220 km/hr, which is equal to the gusty winds during cyclones. In addition, as the area falls in the Seismic zone-4, the structure was built to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8 on the Richter Scale.
She said that as the structure was built in mountainous terrain, it had the threats of slopes. At one point, she had to invest her time and energy 24×7, sacrificing her rest and sleep. Knowing that Latha, a woman hailing from Andhra Pradesh helmed the huge project, would make every citizen in the state proud.
