New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Chenab bridge, which is the world’s highest railway bridge. This is one of the major achievements of the Narendra Modi government since coming to power. A key role in building the bridge was played by IISC Professor, G Madhavi Latha.The woman is a rock engineering specialist. She had been roped in by the Northern Railways to work on this ambitious project.
Latha worked on the bridge project for 17 years
Latha worked closely with the contractor Afcons on the project. She worked as an advisor on the Chenab River Project and shared her insights on slope stabilisation and bridge foundation with the team tasked with building the bridge.
Latha’s research interest centers around soil reinforcement and she tries to study the mechanism on a micro level. According to a report in Financial Express she uses image-based techniques to understand the micro-topographical surface changes in geosynthesis sheared by sands and relates them to strength improvement.
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The IISC Professor along with her team worked on slope stability, foundation design, and rock anchors.
Now following the inauguration of the railway bridge, by PM Modi, IISC Bangalore has heaped praises on its employees. They took to social media platform, ‘X’ to shower praises on her.
In a post on the social media platform, they said, “We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team’s contribution to the #ChenabBridge inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi. The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards.”
We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team’s contribution to the #ChenabBridge inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi🎉
The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards. pic.twitter.com/BApCSJTRZX— IISc Bangalore (@iiscbangalore) June 6, 2025
The premier institute also shared a smiling picture of Latha, with the Chenab Bridge in the background.
The Bridge is considered to be an engineering marvel. It is the world’s tallest railway arch bridge, with a height of 359 metres which is 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower. About 600 kilometres of steel welding has been used in the construction of this 1.3 kilometer long bridge, which is more than the railway line from Jammu to Delhi. The bridge has been built in challenging terrain.
