E. Sreedharan
| E. Sreedharan ഇ. ശ്രീധരൻ |
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|---|---|
| Born | June 12, 1932 Palakkad, Kerala, India |
| Other names | Metro Man |
| Occupation | Former Managing Director of DMRC |
| Known for | Delhi Metro and Other Related Rail Developements |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan |
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (Malayalam: എലാട്ടുവളപ്പില് ശ്രീധരന്; born 12 June 1932) was the managing director of Delhi Metro.
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[edit] Early life
E. Sreedharan was born on 12th July, 1932 in the Palakkad district of Kerala. His family hails from Karukaputhur, Near Koottanad Palakkad district, Kerala. He completed his studies at the Basel Evangelical Mission Higher Secondary School and then went to the Victoria College in Palghat. He later on completed his Civil Engineering from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada (known as JNTU). He, along with his wife Radha, have four children.
[edit] Lecturer
For a short tenure, he worked as a lecturer in Civil engineering at the Government Polytechnic, Kozhikode and an year at the Bombay Port Trust as an apprentice.
Later he joined the Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers. His first assignment was in the Southern Railway as a Probationary Assistant Engineer in December 1954.
[edit] Government career
In 1963, a cyclone washed away parts of Pamban Bridge that connected Rameshwaram to mainland Tamil Nadu. The Railways set a target of six months for the bridge to be repaired while Sreedharan's boss, under whose jurisdiction the bridge came, reduced it to three months. Sreedharan was put in-charge of the execution and he restored the bridge in just 46 days.[1] The Railway minister's Award was given to him in recognition of this achievement..
[edit] Kolkata Metro
In 1970, as the deputy chief engineer, he was put in charge for implementation, planning and design of Calcutta metro, the first ever metro in India. Cochin Shipyard launched Rani Padmini, the first ship it built, when he was its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). He retired from Indian Railways as Member Engineering in 1990. Sreedharan also has an advisory board slot at a new Foundation for the Restoration of National Values. Business tycoon Ratan Tata and a former chief justice of India are serving, too. The foundation aims to "bring in good values in all areas of national life, to cleanse corruption in high places," says Sreedharan.
[edit] On Contract
[edit] Konkan Railway
Though he retired, the Government needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990 by the then railway minister, George Fernandes. Under his stewardship, the company executed its mandate in seven years. The project was unique in many respects. It was the first major project in India to be undertaken on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) basis; the organisation structure was different from that of a typical Indian Railway set-up; the project had 93 tunnels along a length of 82 km and involved tunneling through soft soil. The total project covered 760 km and had over 150 bridges. That a public sector project could be completed without significant cost and time overruns was considered an achievement by many.
[edit] Delhi Metro
He was made the managing director of Delhi Metro and by mid-2005 by the Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, all the scheduled sections were completed by their target date or before and within their respective budgets. Sreedharan was given the sobriquet of Metro Man by the media. In 2005, he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France. He had announced that he would retire by the end of 2005, but his tenure has been extended by another three years to oversee the completion of the second phase of Delhi Metro. In July 2009, Sreedharan resigned as the managing director DMRC, taking moral responsibility for the collapse of an under-construction bridge (at Zamrudpur near Amar Colony) that killed five people.[2] However, due to popular demand, Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit rejected Sreedharan's resignation, and he withdrew it a day later.[3] Sreedharan stated after his withdrawal that he will ultimately be quitting from his position but only after the completion of the Phase II of the Delhi Metro Project.[4]
After 16 years of service with the Delhi Metro, Sreedharan retired from service on 31st December, 2011. His successor is Mangu Singh, who is an Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer of the 1981 batch. [5]
[edit] Awards and accolades
- Railway Minister's Award (1963)
- Padma Shri by the Government of India (2001)
- Man of the Year by The Times of India (2002)
- Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award for professional excellence in engineering (2002)
- CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Juror's Award for leadership in infrastructure development (2002–03)
- One of Asia's Heroes by TIME (2003)
- AIMA (All India Management Association) award for Public Service Excellence (2003)
- Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi.
- Bharat Shiromani award from the Shiromani Institute, Chandigarh (2005)
- Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France (2005)
- CNN-IBN Indian Of the Year 2007: Public Service (2008)[6]
- Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India (2008) 51525
- D.Lit. By Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, Rajasthan, in 2009
- Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) from IIT Roorkee, 2009.
[edit] See Also
- Jaipur Metro
- Kochi Metro
- Delhi Airport Metro Express
- Pamban Bridge
- Rapid transit in India
- Suburban rail in India
- Rail transport in India
- List of bridges in India
- Transport in India
[edit] References
- ^ Delhi's Subway Builder - Forbes.com
- ^ "Sreedharan resigns after Delhi Metro accident". IBNLive. 12 July 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sreedharan-resigns-after-delhi-metro-accident/96947-3.html. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ "Sreedharan withdraws resignation; CM says country needs him". The Times of India. 13 July 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Delhi-Sreedharan-withdraws-resignation-CM-says-country-needs-him/articleshow/4772804.cms. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/i_will_resign_after_completion_of_phase_ii_sreedharan.php
- ^ "'Metro Man' E Sreedharan calls it a day; Mangu Singh new DMRC chief". The Times Of India. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/Metro-Man-E-Sreedharan-calls-it-a-day-Mangu-Singh-new-DMRC-chief/articleshow/11317968.cms.
- ^ "Sreedharan is Indian Of the Year: Public Service". CNN-IBN. 2008-01-25. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/sreedharan-is-indian-of-the-year-public-service/57335-3.html. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
