Padmashri E Sreedharan -The Wheel of the Nation
Shri E Sreedharan, CMD, Konkan Railways and Delhi Metro now has another Project Kochi Rail Metro in his safe hands. He believes that his success is the effort of a team as a whole and hence all his projects are within the budget and ahead of schedule - unlike other projects in the Country. He is the man who "achieved the near impossible".
Shri Sreedharan was born in a middle class Nair family in Karukaputhur in Palghat Dist in Kerala. He was born to Shri Neelakantan Moosad and Smt Ammalu Amma on 12th June 1932. During his schooling at Basel Evangelical Misson Highery Secondary School, he remained at the top till the time Shri TN Seshan (Former Election Commissioner)overtook him from Vth standard. He had his college studies initially from Victoria College in Palghat. Later, he secured his Civil Engineering Degree from Govt Engg College, Kakkinada ( now JNTU ). Employment Career
The foundation for his superfluous and envious career was with a Lecturer post in Civil Engg at Govt Polytechnic in Calicut.This was for a brief period. Later, Shri Sreedharan moved to Bombay to join the Bombay Port Trust as an Apprentice. Subsequently, he stepped into Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers.It was in 1954 that he was placed as a Probationary Asstt Engineer in Southern Railways.
New Map for Railways
Shri Sreedharan, an Indian technocrat was very active in the Engineering Department of the Railways. It was in 1963 that he got an opportunity to prove his mettle. A huge tidal wave destroyed parts of Pamban Bridge which remained the link from main lands of Tamil Nadu to Rameswaram. Th Southern Railways set a target of 6 months to repair the bridge and for restoration of the traffic on the bridge. Shri Sreedharan's boss deputed him for the assignment giving him 3 months time to accomplish the task. Shri Sreedharan was given the independent charge for the repairs and restoration of the traffic. He took up the assignment in right earnest and completed the task n 46 days upto the satisfaction of the Railways and public at large. The entire Railways appreciated his work and the Minister gave him a Special Award in recognition of his stint less efforts. In 1970, as a Deputy Chief Engineer, Shri Sreedharan was given the charge for planning, designing and implementation of Calcutta Metro Project work - the first ever Metro of the Country. He completed the project in time.
Shri Sreedharan was the Chief Engineer for Seven years in Southern Railways from 1981. Prior to his occupying the seat of General Manager in 1987, he did his duty in many a significant projects in the region. He was elevated as Member of the Railway Board in 1989. Shri Sreedharan is fondly called as "Wheel of the Nation" and it is only due to his visionary steps that the face of Indian public transport system underwent drastic changes. His tireless work in building the Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro are classic examples of his great acumen and vision. After superannuation as Member Engineering in 1990, Shri Sreedharan was appointed as the Chairman cum Managing Director of Konkan Railways immediately. He did complete the project in 7 years - the first ever big project built on BOT ( Building, Operate and Transfer ) basis. This was covering 760 Kms passing through 93 tunnels and 50 bridges. This project on implementation, within the budget and ahead of the schedule, became a boon to thousands of Keralites. The rail distance to Kerala from States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhy Pradesh, Delhi and Goa narrowed considerably.
Shri Sreedharan, appointed as MD of Delhi Metro in 1997, proved his visionary skills completing the project ( Ist Phase )ahead of schedule in 2002. It turned out to be a milestone in Railway history as the hassle free travel to commuters, (unlike the one in Calcutta Metro) was widely accepted and the tracks swirled through underground, open and elevated areas. Here too, Shri Sreedharan remained within the budget and ahead of schedule.His niche is that he divides the project work amongst his sub managers, giving them each a deadline. Shri Sreedharan personally reviews the progress daily and on weekly basis, he consults his top staff and consultants. This is the secret behind the success of of the great Man of Wheels added with total personal involvement. It was during his tenure as MD of Cochin Shipyard that the first ship - Rani Padmini - of Cochin Shipyard was launched. Kochi Metro Rail
This is going to be a reality - thanks to the intervention of Shri Sreedharan (and ofcourse, Shri TKA Nair of PM's office). Shri Sreedharan expects the approval from Centre by January 2011 and that the initial works will commence soon. State Govt has earmarked an amount of Rs 159 Crors for the initial work. Th tender proceedings have already commenced.Awards and Recognitions
Shri Sreedharan has received many a laurels and awards. To name a few, Shri Sreedharan was awarded Padma Shree Award in 2001, followed by "the Man of the Year" in 2002 by the Times of India. In 2003, he was named as one of "Asia's Heroes" by TIME. In 2005, the Govt of France honoured him with the Chvalir de la legion d'Honneuer - a rare achievement. Shri Sreedharan is also in the advisory Board for New Foundation for Restoration of National Values.The aim of the Foundation is to "bring in good values in all areas of national life to cleanse corruption in high places. Gurugobind Singh Indraprastha University conferred on him the Doctorate of Philosophy in Management Studies for the timely completion of Delhi Metro. Kerala did not lag behind in recognizing this simple but widely known Keralite and CUSAT awarded D.Litt to Shri Sreedharan a couple of weeks back. Personal Life
Shri Sreedharan is in the practice of waking up before dawn, finds time for Meditation, Reading Bhagavat Gita, Yoga as routine activities. He jogs for 45 minutes in the evenings. It is reported in a TV Interview that out of his take home salary of Rs 30,000, major chunk goes for Charity and that he is living with his pension. He is blessed with his Wife Radha and four children.
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