India’s ‘Metro Man’ Sreedharan to talk today in Colombo
Friday, 10 October 2014 09:44
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The Sri Lanka-India Friendship Society in association with the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies will hold a special presentation by Principal Advisor - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Dr. E. Sreedharan on his work and lessons for Colombo at the BCIS auditorium today (10 October) at 4.30 p.m.
Infrastructure is the back bone of any prosperous economy. Any constraints in this area can impair or retard the growth and progress of a country. India was one such country that had great potential in terms of demographics but lacked the infrastructure to attract foreign investments in order to grow and progress.
Realising this weakness the nation embarked on strengthening its infrastructure by entrusting and encouraging talents like Sreedharan, who is better known as the ‘Metro Man,’ to develop and lay the foundation for a modern, resilient India through strong infrastructure development
Sreedharan is a civil engineer by qualification, who started his career with the Indian railways, made his mark instantaneously by restoring the Pamban Railway line, which got washed away by tidal waves, in a record time of 46 days. He is a man who loves challenges and among the many that he has successfully overcome is the completion of the 760-kilometre Konkan Railways Project from Mumbai to Mangalore, which incidentally is one of the most difficult terrains to work on in India.
Following the success of this project, the Government of India selected Sreedharan to head the Delhi Metro Project which was completed well ahead of schedule and earned him a world record.
Sreedharan has been recognised by various governments across the world for these achievements. The honours he has been bestowed with include the Padma Sri and Padma Vibushan by the Government of India, the chevalier de la legion d’Honneur by the President of France and the order of the rising sun, gold and silver star by the Government of Japan.
Sreedharan has held many distinguished positions during an illustrious career spanning 36 years, such as Divisional Superintendent, Chief Engineer and General Manager, Western Railways. He was the CMD when he executed the Konkan railway project.
He is currently the principal advisor for DMRC, Kochi MetroRail Project, Lucknow Metro Rail Project and Metro Projects of Andhra Pradesh.
