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ಇತಿಹಾಸ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸುವಂತಹ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್‌ಗಳು ತೀರಾ ಕಡಿಮೆ. ತಮ್ಮ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 'ಮೊದಲು' ಎಂಬ ಹಣೆಪಟ್ಟಿ ಪಡೆಯುವ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್‌ಗಳೂ ವಿರಳ. ಆದರೆ, ಡಾ. ಮಾಧವಿ ಲತಾ ಇವೆರಡನ್ನೂ ಕಠಿಣ ನಿರ್ಧಾರದಿಂದ ಸದ್ದಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

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00:00Welcome to ET Vibharat. I'm Siddharth and today we have with us Dr. Madhavi Latha,
00:05one of India's leading geotechnical engineers and a professor at Indian Institute of Science.
00:09Namaste ma'am. Namaste Siddharth. So you're not known only for one historic thing but two. One
00:19is that you are the first female professor in civil engineering at Indian Institute of Science
00:29and you worked on the world's highest bridge a railway bridge. What are your thoughts on that
00:35and how do you feel about having done this? Okay the first one what you said I'm the first
00:43female faculty in the department of civil engineering IISC I think someone has to come
00:49and I have come so that's how it happened but the second thing what you talked about the world's
00:55highest railway bridge and I am one of the engineers who designed and part of the construction and
01:00completion of this bridge. This brings a lot of pride to me I feel I feel great about it.
01:06You know coming from Anshapradesh normally people turn towards engineering but then what made you turn
01:21towards civil engineering as such because you know we have a lot of stereotypes about it especially
01:28about women entering the hard engineering fields you know so what made you turn towards it what was
01:34your what was the process like especially from at home and later taking those decisions. Okay to be
01:42very honest I never wanted to be an engineer I wanted to be a doctor and taking engineering was
01:48because because of situations at home and especially the financial status of my family. So, they thought
01:55that engineering is a better profession than medical profession because we can settle down in life
02:01quickly and we start earning whereas medical profession needs lot of financial support for building a
02:07clinic or to continuing in this profession for a long time to complete the studies. So, that is how I
02:12entered engineering, but once I entered engineering civil engineering was also not my choice because
02:18I got seat in other branches as well, but since I did not get in electronics civil engineering was my
02:26second choice that is how I entered civil engineering. And yes you said there are a lot of stereotypes and
02:33who will say that women have to go into this field that field, but personally I do not think any of
02:40this kind of things exist that women have to do only these things. For me I treat myself as equal to any
02:46man in the world. So, I do not think being a woman should decide your career path. I think it is your passion
02:53that should drive you towards a specific profession. So, civil engineering chose you or you chose civil
02:59engineering? Maybe both, maybe both. I chose civil engineering when civil engineering came in my way.
03:05And again sort of reiterating my previous question in a slightly different way maybe because there are
03:16more barriers for women when it comes to mechanical engineering or civil engineering which are considered
03:22as the hard you know ones compared to and there's more of physicality involved in these avenues. So, did you face,
03:33what are the barriers that you faced as such or did you actually face any barriers because of your gender?
03:38No, I did not face any barriers because of my gender. There is physical work in this profession,
03:45particularly when you work on field. I do not deny that, but I think we are capable of handling it
03:51and women can go into space and live for months and years beating all men. I do not think civil engineering
03:58is a big thing that people should be scared about. I would say that this is like any other profession,
04:05but if you are looking for a job inside an office sitting 9 to 5 in front of your computer,
04:11this is not for you. If you are passionate about nation building, I think this is for you.
04:15You said two interesting things. One is about nation building and you use the word scary, you know,
04:23because that's the perception. Now, when it comes to the bridge that you worked on, the China bridge,
04:29it has both. It has a scary element towards it considering its location in the geopolitical context
04:37and with other issues and its altitude and all. And you are also known for a design-as-you-go approach.
04:46How did this come together? How was the process? Like, was a design-as-you-go approach needed in this
04:55context? Design-as-you-go approach is needed in any infrastructural project which is like very,
05:01very big and takes long time because things change with time, because rocks also change with time,
05:08they undergo process through which their properties will not remain the same over the years. And also,
05:13when you are talking about projects which are like, which are built on natural slopes like China bridge,
05:20you need to adopt the design-as-you-go. It is not like my approach that we have adopted. It is the
05:28approach adopted in globally in many civil engineering projects, but in rarely. And this approach was,
05:34it has come together through the Indian railways and the construction companies and the designers like
05:41me. So, we all worked on this evolution of the bridge into what it is standing today.
05:48When it comes to evolution and design in engineering, I see, things are evolving. Technologically,
05:56we are evolving at a different, at a geometric pace probably today more than ever. How do you feel
06:02sustainability, safety and environmental concerns also have to come into engineering and design?
06:10See, I am the chair of sustainable technologies of IAAC. So, I definitely know what sustainability
06:16means. Many people said that in Chinab Railway Bridge construction, you have used so much of cement
06:23concrete, which is not a sustainable material. But to all of them, I would like to tell that
06:29sustainability is not about just the materials. It is about the entire environmental impact and the
06:35life cycle. For example, the Chinab Railway Bridge was the only lifeline to the entire Jammu region when
06:42floods happened recently. All roads were closed and this was the only line through which the government
06:48has transported flood material and flood victims to the upper regions. And also when millions of tons
06:55of apples are getting rotten, this was the only line through which the government could transport
07:00the apples from Anantanag and Madgav districts to Delhi through apple express trains. I would call this
07:08is sustainability. And initially when the project started, many people in that region opposed,
07:14there is something going to happen in this region and our slopes are affected, our hills are affected,
07:20there is going to be kind of civil engineering construction. But I recently met many of the
07:25social influencers in a conference in Goa, where these people have come and told me that ma'am,
07:31during this floods we realized why we need this bridge. We all are so proud of you and we are thankful
07:37to you for being a part of this bridge. So, I can see that keeping people happy without affecting
07:43their ecosystem is what sustainability means. I think we achieved through our Chinab Railway Bridge
07:50project. So, its sustainability according to you has more dimensions to it than just a unidimensional.
07:55Yes. Whether it is a material or whether it is an emission or.
07:58Yes, it is there is a river flowing between two hills and we have built this huge bridge,
08:03but we have not disturbed the course of the river or we have not silted the river. Enough care is taken
08:08for all these environmental aspects to keep the terrain as natural at as it was in the beginning.
08:16So, I would say that no rules of sustainability are broken and moreover with time the kind of benefits
08:23it is giving. The time between Jammu and Srinagar, the travel time is reduced by 50 percent,
08:29which means that we are saving so much of emission on these roads of Jammu and Kashmir that is sustainability.
08:36So, by reducing the travel time, you are cutting down fuel consumption and you are kicking off a
08:42whole ecosystem about it. On these lines, because when you talk about engineering and sustainability
08:51and essentially STEM fields, again there is the whole gender aspect that no matter how hard we try not
09:00to bring in or in 21st century, it is more relevant and you have been the recipient of the top 75 women
09:11in STEM in India award. So, what's your take on women in STEM from a breaking gender barriers sort of a point
09:21of you? Because there is still the glass ceiling. You also, you still see a wage gap in certain countries
09:29and in certain industries, especially in STEM. And there is also, as I said, a glass ceiling where
09:35the perception is that women cannot break it beyond a certain point. So, as somebody who has been
09:42involved in a monumental project like this at a very influential level, what do you have to say about it?
09:47Very relevant point, I would not say that we do not have gender bias in our system,
09:53there is definitely this barrier and this glass ceiling what you are talking about.
09:57But I would say that the change should come from every point of view, like women also should feel
10:04fearless in pursuing these professional trajectories. And also the industry has to understand the value
10:11of women in these fields. For example, women can deliver end to end, I have seen many men dropping
10:18out in taking the responsibilities. And I would, I would definitely not just being a woman, I do not
10:24have that bias, but I have seen many women stay strong, when they are like passionate about something,
10:30they go till end to deliver that. I think this will be realized by industry when women can break the
10:37barriers and show their strength. It should come from both ways. Women also have to be fearless and
10:42industry also should recognize the merits of women in these fields. And then I think the path will be
10:48easier. It is changing definitely changing, you can see lot of women CEO's these days,
10:53lot of women in very important fields, you can see me. So, I think it is there are few case studies
11:00as of now, going forward, we will see many. That's my take. How do you think it can be like,
11:06what can a woman say who is married off at the age of 15, 16, after 10th or enter, which is,
11:14which happens? Yes. What do you think she can do? Or what, what do you think are pathways in today's
11:22India in today's? Yeah, that's a very, very pathetic situation, because I have been in a situation where I
11:28would have got married at an age of 13, 14, because I came from a village and a rural setting, small
11:34background. And people were the only aim was like getting the girl married, because that is one
11:40responsibility you have to get rid of. This still is a thing in many villages in India. I am very,
11:47very sad about it. I do not know like how to tell them that be fearless, do this, do that, because they
11:54do not know, they do not have the educational background. The only way I can see is, the
11:59government should give them the kind of support or education that is needed. There is so much is
12:06being done already, but I think this gap is still there. I have no idea how to break this, you know,
12:15even in my village, I see that girls getting married at a very engaged, whereas boys are sent to
12:21different countries for education and things like that. So, there is a kind of systemic change that
12:26has to come. I think through education and for example, now when my life story is published in many
12:32newspapers, many parents have written to me, now I will make my girl study, now I will make them study
12:38civil engineering all that. I think many such life stories have to come into picture, where parents
12:43are inspired, seeing that this is how a girl also can be equal to a boy, if not more than that.
12:52So, I think that should come from the parents and the system should support and publicize this,
12:58that these are the opportunities. Beyond that, I think I am also like you feeling, you know,
13:04compassionate about what is happening in villages and the poor girls who are getting married at a very
13:09engaged and spending their whole life in doing this daily chores of helping the family, helping the kids
13:16and husband. So, this sort of a journey earned you a doctorate and then earned you a professorship and then
13:28earned you opportunities where you could get yourself involved in projects like the China Bridge,
13:34apart from winning you many awards, including the Ramoji Excellence Award. What are your thoughts on
13:40this and what do you have to say to young women who are aspiring to be scientists or that young girl
13:46who looks at a scientist on TV and dreams to be that? Yeah, I think dreaming big is very important and
13:55at the same time, you should understand your limitations. Everyone cannot do everything. So,
14:00you need to find your corner of the sky where you can fly high, this is what I believe in. So,
14:07your life is not defined when you are born. For example, when I look at how I was as an young girl
14:12and how I am today, I would not have dreamt about like where I stand today. I had definitely a dream
14:19that I would fly high and I would be a big person. This dream was always there in heart and there is
14:24a passion to achieve the dream, but I my path was not defined. I evolved over the time and I grabbed
14:31the opportunities that came in my way I would say. I was never like say no to thing which I know I
14:38I am sure that this will bring something to me personal satisfaction or glory or professional
14:44recognition. I never backed off from that kind of a opportunity. So, opportunities do come in
14:50everyone's life. So, be fearless when you have an opportunity, try to take this forward. About
14:58awards, recognitions they follow, you do not like if I did not ask anyone to give an award actually,
15:04everything just fell in place because I reached that stage. And the journey from the young girl to
15:10this, I think that was very hard and I did well. I would think today that all the awards what I am
15:18getting today are like for the whole hard work not just the Chinab Railway Bridge because I studied in
15:24Telugu medium till twelfth class. So, when I joined my engineering, I was not even able to talk freely
15:29with people because I was very you know shy and I was everything is taught in English, it was a big
15:37big difficulty for me. But then I decided that I am going to conquer the world. And then I trained myself
15:45in a way that today I can sit in any forum and talk about me. So, I think if I can do it,
15:51any girl can do it. Only thing is their family conditions and the opportunities when they come,
15:57they just have to grab it and they have to be they have to be consistent. Never give up,
16:03never give up, never settle for anything less than what you deserve. This is my message to all girls
16:09who have come from a smaller background like me. That's actually a very powerful thing that you said
16:15ma'am. In fact, it made me feel something because you said never settle for anything less than what you
16:24deserve. And that viewers was Dr. Madhavi Latha and her journey of grit and determination with consistent
16:34efforts throughout. This is Siddharth signing off for ETV Bharat.
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