CNN-IBN INDIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS
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Sreedharan is CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2007
Published on Tue, Jan 29, 2008 at 22:25, Updated on Wed, Jan 30, 2008 at 09:26 in India section
Tags: Indian Of The Year, E Shreedharan , New Delhi
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New Delhi: The verdict is out and the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year for 2007 is E Sreedharan.
Metro Man Sreedharan, who was also the winner in the Public Service category, was chosen for achieving the near-impossible, for breaking through bureaucratic red tape and defying the naysayers of modern infrastructure-building to build the Delhi Metro.
The 76-year-old Sreedharan is the Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, its builder and executor. The Delhi Metro has proved to be a Godsend for the city as every morning, over six lakh Delhiites today use the network to commute to work.
Sreedharan faced numerous challenges. Bureaucratic red tape tried to delay his work. Contractors would not meet commitments. Corruption threatened to slow him down.
But the unassuming railway engineer never lost hope and never stopped believing in his project, which changed the face of urban transport in India.
With 56 kilometres of the network on track and only two more phases left to be completed, the $2 billion project is running ahead of time and strictly within budget.
In just two more years, the high-speed train will be accessible to every resident of Delhi.
Meet the man behind the Metro
Sreedharan reports for work on the dot at 8.45 every morning, 15 minutes before his staff. Disclaiming that he is workaholic, Sreedharan says he simply likes to get the job done, for the job at hand is not just his duty but also his dharma.
Although Sreedharan is hardly ever seen in public, rarely gives interviews or attends public functions, his honesty and integrity are legends.
The Konkan Railway project came to him after he had retired from the Railways. It was a daunting task – 760 km of rail tracks from Mumbai to Kochi through the rugged mountains of the Western Ghats.
Environmentalists had protested and politicians said it could never be done. The project ran short of money.
But in an unprecedented initiative, Sreedharan raised public bonds to finance it and today, the Konkan Railway chugs merrily down the coastline.
Sreedharan was also one of Time magazine's Asian heroes, but to CNN-IBN, and perhaps the rest of India, he is much more – one of modern India's greatest sons, one who is not just a dreamer but a builder and one who has dedicated his achievements to every Indian.
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URBANEYE
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Thank you IBN for recognising a good and great man. Mr Sreedharan has not only made commuting easier for Delhiites,
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congragulations cnn ibn,
ya guies deserve it u felt the pulse of the nation which is bound by the
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Congratulations Mr. Shreedharan, We are soooooooooo proud of you and really wish India has more people like you. I do
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You are a true role model...Hats off .
This world of money & power ,gains & achievements its so hearten to
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Mr. Sreedharan is truly my role model.
I only wish I can get this video so that I can inspire all
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