Three cheers to this metro- man

E. Sreedharan, who has been awared public service person of the year award cbnibn...the man know for his integrity and honesty ..who made it possible for the trains that run through the ratnagiri area...when many said it was an impossible task..he went in for public bonds and made it a possible dream...

To know more about him...He deferred retirement in 1998 to become managing director of India’s Delhi Metro Rail Corp., taking charge of a $2.3-billion effort to build the first phase of New Delhi’s massive metro system. . Sreedharan is credited with single-mindedly knocking down the many obstacles that have bedeviled other large Indian projects. This tough Indian manager cut through the country’s notorious red tape, employed global best practices and adopted safety steps not common in Indian construction. Much more than a figurehead, Sreedharan isn’t finished yet. He is 74 I think...when lot of people of his age think of retiring and enjoying life , he is striving for a better india... he was the top 25 newsmaker in 2005...and also top runner for asian person of the year that year...

How I wish he does the same for chennai...

Once again hats of him .

hi Shanvy,
How are you doing?

Thanks for sharing this excellent piece of news here.
I wasn't aware of this person and his good deeds.

best,
hasita

Hi Shanvy,

I join you in cheering him - a great man indeed! We are not proud to have him in bangalore to kick-start the metro ! Thanks to him and the metro, we hope that the bangalore travel blues will come down.

Cheers,

Sumathy

Dear Shanvy
Hats off to such a dedicated person.

Dear Shanvy,

to Mr. E. Sreedharan... A great man.... His achievements are really wonderful.... and great help to lakhs of people.....

Once again cheers to him!!!

Thanks Shan, for bring Mr. Sreedharan to light in IL.

Hope, he helps out all the upcoming cities to bring in a good and well defined public transport system.

to Mr. Sreedharan.

Warm regards
Roopa.

Dear Shanvy,
Good that you have Started a Thread here.I watched this news only today on ibnlive. Indeed Mr.Sreedharan has done a wonderful job and his determination does deserve this .

Three cheers to him! Hats off MR.Sreedharan!

Hi Shanvy,

to this Metro man...

I have keenly read a lot of him.....

His first major feat, was when a portion of Pamban bridge, that connects Rameswaram with mainland TN, was washed away by tidal waves. The railways had set a target of six months for that restoration.....but he made it possible within just 46 days. I think the yr was 1963(correct me if I m wrong).

Among the honors that he received...Padmashree is one among them and also the "Chevalier" by the French Govt.

Thanx Shanvy for starting this thread for such a legend....

Dear Shanthi ma'am

I have heard of this great man from my cousins living at Delhi...
Thanks for bringing this out here..You made me search to find out more info on him..

Hats off to youMr.Sreedharan sir for all your achievements..


Early life


Ellatuvalapil Sreedharan is from Perungode in Palaghat district of Kerala. The surname Ellatuvalapil belongs to the famous Tharavad in this part of Kerala. He was a classmate of T. N. Seshan, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India in school. He later studied at the Victoria College in Palghat and then graduated as an engineer from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada (now JNTU). After a short tenure as a lecturer in Civil engineering at the Kerala Polytechnic in Kozhikode and a year at the Bombay Port Trust as an apprentice, he joined the Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers. This was through a nation-wide selection procedure and his first assignment was in the Southern Railway as a Probationary Assistant Engineer in December 1954.


Government career

In 1963, a huge tidal wave 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 46 days. The Railway minister's Award was given to him in recognition of this achievement. 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 in 1990.


On contract


Though he retired, the Government needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990. 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.
He was made the managing director of Delhi Metro and by mid-2005, 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 Legion 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.



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 Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France (2005)
• CNN-IBN Indian Of the Year 2007: Public Service (200^[1]
• 
  

Professional affiliations

• Fellow, Institution of Civil Engineers, UK
• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Transport, UK
• Fellow, Institute of Railway Transport, India
• Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering, India.