‘I am just one of thousands who deserve appreciation'
Standing tall at 359 metres above the riverbed, the 1,315-metre-long bridge surpasses the Eiffel Tower by 35 metres and has an expected lifespan of 120 years. Built to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 kmph and seismic activity, this single-arch railway bridge is a testament to Indian engineering expertise. A Telugu woman, Gali Madhavi Latha, played a key role in its construction. A professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, she hails from a small village, Yedugundlapadu, in the SN Padu Assembly segment of Prakasam district.
After the bridge's inauguration by PM Modi, its technical excellence and global recognition highlighted Madhavi Latha's 17 years of sincere and dedicated work, alongside numerous technical experts and field workers.
Born into a middle-class agricultural family, Madhavi Latha lost her father, Gali Venka Reddy—a tobacco buyer—at a young age. Her mother, Annapurnamma, supported her education.
Today, Annapurnamma resides with Madhavi's brother, Harinath Reddy, in their native village. Madhavi Latha completed her schooling in Telugu medium and Intermediate education in government institutions in Kandukur and Ongole. She earned her engineering degree from JNTU-Kakinada, her MTech from NIT Warangal, and her PhD from IIT Madras. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in rock mechanics at IISc Bengaluru.
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Indian Express
15 minutes ago
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19 years after he launched legal aid cell after son's arrest, Gulzar Azmi's fight ends in acquittal
It was the arrest of his two sons in 2005 that spurred septuagenarian Gulzar Azmi into action. Convinced that many young Muslim men were being falsely implicated in terror-related cases, Azmi set up a legal aid cell under the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a prominent organisation of Islamic scholars to provide legal support to the accused and their families. Nineteen years later, that legal cell has achieved its most significant victory as the the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted by the special court in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. At first glance, Azmi, often seen clad in a lungi with traces of paan dribbling from the corners of his mouth, seemed an unlikely figure to have led the defence of over 500 Muslim men involved in 52 terror cases across the country. 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Mint
18 minutes ago
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Commerce ministry weighs GST rationalization for motion-lit toys
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First Post
18 minutes ago
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H-1B lottery-based model to end? US proposes weighted visa system to prioritise qualification
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