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Professional group Keralite Engineers’ Forum (KEF) will honour E Sreedharan, popularly known as “Metroman of India,” at a function to be held at InterContinental Doha The City Hotel tomorrow. |
The function is scheduled for 6pm. The forum will honour Sreedharan with its maiden “Technocrat of the Year 2014 Award” at the function, said KEF chairman N V Raghavan.
Indian ambassador to Qatar Sanjiv Arora and senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official Elias George will also be present at the ceremony, said convener Mebu Jose Nettikaden. George is the managing director of Kochi Metro Rail currently under construction.
KEF is a forum with more than 500 engineers from the southern Indian state, who are employed in Qatar.
Sreedharan, a widely respected technocrat in India, is credited with providing leadership for the nearly 760km long Konkan Rail, which is considered as one of the top architectural marvels in the South Asian country, besides building metros in Kolkata, New Delhi and under construction projects in Bengaluru and Kochi.
Sreedharan, who is known for his uprightness and adherence to deadlines, is credited with transforming the lives of millions of Indians through his projects.
Sreedharan, who joined the Indian Railways as a service engineer in the 60s, came into the spotlight when he restored the Pamban bridge connecting Rameswaram with Mandapam in Tamil Nadu, across the Bay of Bengal, in a record time of 46 days, after tidal waves washed away a major portion of the bridge.
Though he retired from the Indian Railways in 1990, the Government called him out of retirement and appointed him as the chief managing director of the Konkan Railway in 1990. The challenging project has 93 tunnels and over 150 bridges, and it helped reduce the distance from Mumbai to Kochi in central Kerala by one-third of the previous distance.
The Indian government has also recognised his efforts with civilian honours like the “Padma Shri” and “Padma Vibhushan” awards. He was also awarded the ‘Man of the Year’ by Times of India (2002) and was named as one of Asia’s heroes by Time in 2003.
In addition, he was also awarded the ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur’ (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France in 2005, for his outstanding commitment to the development of transportation infrastructure in India and his valuable contribution to enhancing Indo-French relations.
KEF convener Jose said senior officials from Qatar Rail are also expected to attend the award ceremony to be held on May 2.
The entry to the award function is through invitation only. Those interested should contact by email: [email protected] or call NV Raghavan (55514831).
