New Delhi, June 16: All the hullabaloo over the exclusion of iconic railway administrator E Shreedharan from the list of people sharing the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the inauguration ceremony of Kochi Metro abated with the PMO including his name. However, reports say that there was no ill-will in leaving him out as the PMO might be thinking about a greater role for him. Media reports say he might become the consensus candidate of the government and the Opposition for President’s post.
A report by India Today said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi keep a safe distance with people he wants to elevate, hence, he was not included in the list. The BJP panel that is talking to the Opposition to build consensus for a common candidate wants an RSS-backed candidate to be the President of India. However, the Opposition block is completely averse to RSS when it comes to the top constitutional post. In that case, the BJP might push the name of a non-political dignitary that is acceptable to all the sides. E Sreedharan can fit the bill. However, there is no official information as yet.
Who is E Sreedharan? He is a retired Indian Engineering Service officer, widely respected for his upright and hardworking attitude towards work. He is widely regarded as Metro man as he got the ambitious Delhi Metro project take baby steps without much delay or budget overshoot. He had been the managing director of Delhi Metro for over 1.5 decades and oversaw the massive development of the state of art railway network. Under his watch, the Delhi Metro became one of the world’s most efficient metro networks in the world. Due to his proactive work, Delhi Metro is also the cleanest and safest mode of urban mobility in the country.
E Sreedharan was appointed the deputy chief engineer of the Kolkata metro in 1970. He was in charge of design and implementation. He completed the project efficiently. In 1979, he was made the director of Cochin Shipyard. Under his leadership, the shipyard constructed its first ship. He was made the general manager of Konkan Railways, where he expedited many projects. Upon his retirement, the then railway minister George Fernandes extended his services by hiring him on contract. He was too valuable a resource to let go. (Also read: Presidential Election 2017: Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu to meet Sonia Gandhi today; What to expect)
He was appointed as the managing director the Delhi Metro in 1997 by the then Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma. He delivered the impossible-looking project in time and also ensured its massive success. Delhi Metro currently is the jugular vein of Delhi like the Bombay local is Mumbai’s. All credit goes to this magical administrator. He retired in 2011. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan for his distinguished services.
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