The man behind the world’s tallest railway bridge between Jiribam and Imphal in the North-East has now embarked on a different task – bridging the gap between qualification and competence among engineering students.
Ankala Sai Baba, an alumnus of Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering, Tirupati, hit the headlines when he headed the rail project measuring 141 metres, with a running distance of 111 km. Now, he is keen on making the new generation of engineers employable by regularly conducting technical lectures.
Built in an earthquake-prone region that is also known for highest rainfall and left wing extremism (LWE), the bridge was declared the world’s tallest after it surpassed the previous record held by a 139-metre-tall structure in Europe. The second tallest bridge in India by Konkan Railways is only 90m high. The successful completion of the ₹14,000 crore project will not only improve logistics and tourism potential by bringing the North-East closer to mainland India, but also catalyses the formation of trans-Asian rail network and improves security infrastructure in the strife-torn region. “At double the size of Qutub Minar, the bridge is a structural marvel,” remarks Mr. Sai Baba. In an informal chat with The Hindu , Mr. Sai Baba recalled how Remote Structural Health Monitoring system was introduced to check the health of this bridge on a real-time basis. Drone cameras were employed for the first time to hover around and check the embedded systems strategically placed across the bridge.
Working on bridges seems to be a strange coincidence for Mr. Sai Baba, as this structural engineer’s career started with India’s first cable-stayed bridge at Krishnarajapuram in Bengaluru. An expert in seismic analysis and design, he had earlier worked for Bengaluru and Hyderabad metro rail projects and is now the Chief Track Engineer of South East Central Railway zone headquartered at Bilaspur, covering operations in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
Reaching out
Intending to reach out to students, he has conducted a whopping 432 lectures to engineering students in 15 countries, including those in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa, the latest being at his alma mater last week. At the rate of 43 talks a year, his passion is to drive home sustainability and environment-friendly engineering among students.
