Click to play videoNew Delhi: The man who gave us the Delhi metro and Konkan railways has hung up his boots. The face of Delhi Metro, E Sreedharan, retired on Saturday. He gave Delhi its new identity and achieved the near-impossible breaking through red tape to build the Delhi Metro.
However, 16 years after he became Managing Director DMRC in 1995 - E Sreedharan - is stepped down on the last day of 2011. He left behind a 190 km network across the National Capital Region, now considered the fastest growing Metro network anywhere in the world.
"It has been a very satisfying journey," Sreedharan said.
The Delhi metro is currently ferries over 16 lakh passengers on weekdays through over 2,500 trips - all with employees who have a work ethic that everyone swears by.
Shreedharan always maintained a low profile. He was at work everyday at 8.45 am, 15 minutes before his staff. And the backward counting clock that he carries with himself from his Konkan railway days is the kind of stuff that legends are made of.
The Metro Man himself says, "This watch I got from the Konkan railway, it keeps everyone on their toes."
The CNN-IBN Indian of the year for the year 2007, Sreedharan's strength comes from his simple lifestyle, yoga and the most important person in his life, his wife.
Today as he hands over the reign to his chosen successor Mangu Singh and heads back to his village, Delhi will always remain grateful to the man who redefined transport in Delhi and introduced its people to an efficient and speedy public transport system.
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