Metro man sreedharan biography of donald

Indian engineer (born )

Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (born 12 June ) is an Indian engineer and politician from the Indian state of Kerala. He is credited with changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro while he served as the managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) between and ^[1] Known as the Metro Man, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in ,^[2] the Padma Vibhushan in ,^[3] the Chevalier de la Legion of Honour^[2] in by the Government of France and was named one of Asia's Heroes by Time magazine in ^[4][5] Sreedharan was appointed by the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to serve on the United Nations's High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST) for a period of three years in He is a member of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.^[6][7][8] He briefly served as a national executive council member of Bharatiya Janata Party, but later quit active politics in December ^[9] He also worked as an advisor of Dhaka Metro authority which is called Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited under the Railway Ministry of Bangladesh.^[10]

Early life and education

E. Sreedharan was born on 12 June in present-day Karukaputhur, Palakkad District, Kerala, India into a HinduMalayali family^[11][12] to Keezhveettil Neelakandan Moosath and Ammaluamma.^[13]

Sreedharan's primary education was from Government Lower Primary School Chathannur near Pattambi in Palakkad district. He completed his education at the Basel Evangelical Mission Higher Secondary School and then went to the Victoria College in Palghat. He later-on completed his Civil Engineering degree from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, presently known as Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University.

E. Sreedharan and T. N. Seshan were classmates at BEM High School and Victoria College in Palakkad. Both of them were selected for Engineering in JNTU Kakinada, a university in a port town in Andhra Pradesh, however, E. Sreedharan decided to pursue it, while T. N. Seshan decided to join Madras Christian College (MCC).^[14]

Career as a professor

For a short period, Sreedharan worked as a lecturer in Civil engineering at the Government Polytechnic, Kozhikode^[11][12] and a year at the Bombay Port Trust as an apprentice. He subsequently joined the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), after clearing the Indian Engineering Services Exam in conducted by the UPSC. His first assignment was in the Southern Railway as a Probationary Assistant Engineer in December ^{[citation needed]}

Government career

In December , a cyclone washed away parts of Pamban Bridge that connected Rameswaram 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.^[11][12] The Railway minister's Award was given to him in recognition of this achievement.

Kolkata Metro

Main article: Kolkata Metro

In , as the deputy chief engineer, he was put in charge of the implementation, planning and design of the CalcuttaMetro, the first ever metro in India.^[11] Sreedharan not only completed this much heralded project but also laid down the foundation of modern infrastructure engineering in India. He was taken off this post in ^[15]

Cochin Shipyard Limited

Main article: Cochin Shipyard

When Sreedharan joined the Cochin Shipyard in October ,^[1] it was undergoing a phase of unproductivity. The production of its first ship MV Rani Padmini had been delayed for a long period.^[15] When Sreedharan took over, he turned the fortunes of the shipyard around and made sure its first ship was built while he was its chairman and managing director (CMD). In , under Sreedharan's leadership, the shipyard launched its first ship, the MV Rani Padmini.^[16]

Finished projects

Konkan Railway

Main article: Konkan Railway

He was promoted as general manager, Western Railway in July , and in July elevated to the post of Member Engineering, Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India.^[12] On his retirement in June , the Government made it clear it still needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 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 tunnelling through soft soil. The total project covered &#;km and had over bridges. That a public sector project could be completed without significant cost and time overruns was considered an achievement by many.^{[who?][citation needed]} Konkan Railway has been covered in the Extreme Railways program by Chris Tarrant&#;as one of the most difficult railway projects to have been constructed in the world.^[17]

Delhi Metro

Main article: Delhi Metro

He was made the managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation by then Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma and by mid 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 for his grand success in executing the completion of the Delhi Metro.^[18] His stint in the Delhi Metro has been considered so successful and crucial to India that in , he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France, and the Padma Vibhushan by the government of India in ^[3] There were also demands by prominent political figures that Sreedharan be awarded the Bharat Ratna, the most prestigious civilian award in India.^[19] He was particularly known for isolating his projects from political pressures and influences and winning political commitments for fast execution of projects.^[20][21] He had announced that he would retire by the end of , but his tenure was further extended to oversee the completion of the second phase of Delhi Metro. After 16 years of service with the Delhi Metro, Sreedharan retired from service on 31 December

Kochi Metro

After his retirement from DMRC, Sreedharan has been appointed as Principal Advisor of the Kochi Metro Rail Project.^[22] Initially, the project faced hurdles when a controversy broke out with the government announcing a global tender process for Kochi Metro, rather than letting DMRC handle the consultancy and project execution as Sreedharan and DMRC had initially asked for.^[1] Vested interests in the government have been alleged in this decision.^[23] However, several political parties came out in opposition of the move, and backed Sreedharan's decision in enforcing DMRC's role in the Kochi Metro, after which the government reversed its stance.^[24] Kochi metro was finally unveiled on 17 June amidst much celebrations.^[25] The unveiling of the metro was considered a landmark event in India in terms of completion time, control systems used and initiatives such as employing transgender people,^[26] vertical gardening, respecting migrant labourers,^[27] and use of solar power.

Lucknow Metro

Main article: Lucknow Metro

Sreedharan has also been appointed as Chief Advisor for the Lucknow Metro^[28] As per E. Sreedharan, Kochi metro was built in four years whereas Lucknow Metro will be completed in a period of two years and nine months, and that would be the fastest in India and the world till now.^[29]

Other Metros

He has been advising for the Jaipur Metro as well as DMRC has undertaken its implementation.^[30] He has also been appointed as advisor for a proposed Metro rail system in Andhra Pradesh in the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada (VGTM) areas, under the leadership of the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.^[31] He has also been advisor for Coimbatore Metro.

Politics

Before joining politics, he commented on various political issues. Ahead of the Indian general election he endorsed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and praised him for his quick decision making as Chief Minister of Gujarat.^[32] When the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi announced to give free travel facility only to women passengers on buses and Metro trains, he opposed the decision and wrote to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for his "personal intervention".^[33] He opposed Kerala Government over a legislation which facilitate student organisational activities in all educational institutions, including private self-financing colleges.^[34] He in statement said "campus politics is being encouraged by politicians and even by government leading to disruption of classes, student clashes, criminal activities such as murders, stabbing incidents etc. Unfortunately, some teachers with political leaning give mute support to such activities".

He suggested that the KMRL must reduce fare prices and called outside consultants for Kochi metro's Pettah-Thripunithura extension a "foolish act".^[35] He suggested the Indian Railways to stop borrowing capital for its operations and raise fare prices.^[36]

Sreedharan called India's Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train project as a "highly expensive" undertaking that caters only to the elites.^[37]

Bharatiya Janata Party

On 18 February , Sreedharan joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[38] He contested in Kerala Legislative Assembly election from Palakkad assembly constituency and got % of votes polled, losing to the incumbent Shafi Parambil of the Indian National Congress, who got % of votes.^[39] However, Sreedharan quit active politics on 17 December ^[40]

Political views

Sreedharan has said he strongly opposes Hindu and Christian girls being tricked in marriage", calling it love jihad; he has also said that because he is a vegetarian, he opposes any consumption of meat.^[41][42] In a interview to The Economic Times, he stated that Narendra Modi "is probably the best PM India has had so far".^[43]

Awards and accolades

• Railway Minister's Award ()
• Padma Shri by the Government of India ()^[2]
• Man of the Year by The Times of India ()^[44]
• Om Prakash Bhasin Award for professional excellence in engineering ()
• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Juror's Award for leadership in infrastructure development (–03)
• One of Asia's Heroes by TIME ()^[4]
• AIMA (All India Management Association) award for Public Service Excellence ()
• Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi.
• mma Memorial Award^[45]
• Bharat Shiromani award from the Shiromani Institute, Chandigarh ()
• Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France ()^[2]
• Qimpro Platinum Standard (Business) National Statesman for Quality in India ()^[46]
• CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Public Service ()^[47]
• Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India ()^[3]
• by Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, Rajasthan, in ^[4]
• Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) from IIT Roorkee, ^[4]
• Honorary doctorate by Cochin University of Science and Technology in ^[48]
• Newsmaker of the Year by Manorama News in
• Sree Chithira Thirunal National Award, ^[49][50]
• SR Jindal Prize (honorary) awarded by Sitaram Jindal Foundation in ^[51]
• TKM 60 Plus award for Lifetime achievement, by TKM College of Engineering.
• Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Mahamaya Technical University on its first convocation ()^[52]
• Rotary International for the sake of Honour Award ()
• Lifetime Achievement Governance Award by Grifles, ^[53]
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver star by Government of Japan ()^[54]
• KPP Nambiar Award by IEEE Kerala Section () ^[55]
• Lifetime achievement award by Project Management Associates (PMA) India ()^[56]

Bibliography

A Book on Sreedharan's life is 'Karmayogi: E. Sreedharante Jeevitha Katha' (Translated: Karmayogi&#;: The story of E. Sreedharan's life) is an authentic biography by M. S. Asokan. A short biography on E. Sreedharan was penned by P.V. Alby, named 'Jeevithavijayathinte Paadapusthakam' (translated: A Textbook on success in life). Both these books were top sellers in Kerala during the time Sreedharan took up his post on the Kochi Metro project as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's principal advisor.^[57] Another book on Sreedharan is "India's Railway Man - A biography of Dr. E Sreedharan" by Rajendra B Aklekar.^[58]

In another international book "マダム、これが俺たちのメトロだ" (Trans: Madam, this is our Metro) written by a female Japanese Civil Engineer Abe Reiko, who was closely associate with the DMRC project, praised Sreedharan for his far-farsightedness and strong determination.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Sreedharan's wife is Radha Sreedharan. His daughter is Shanthi Menon, principal of the Deens Academy, Bangalore.

References

External links