The man who saw tomorrow retires

For the country’s most successful technocrat and management leader, E Sreedharan, 79, Bhagwat Gita is the best management manual. The man who gave public transport a new definition, Sreedharan finally retired from his 14-year-long service today. Subhendu Ray reports.

For the country’s most successful technocrat and management leader, E Sreedharan, 79, Bhagwat Gita is the best management manual. The man who gave public transport a new definition, Sreedharan finally retired from his 14-year-long service today.

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“Though he was an old man, he always had a youthful energy, dedication and efficiency in professional field,” said a senior officer of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Sreedharan, who over the last one-and-a-half decade had become synonymous with Delhi Metro, on Saturday finally handed over charge to Mangu Singh, a colleague and partisan for many years.

During his long stint as chief of Delhi Metro, Sreedharan added a new dimension to the public transport system of Delhi which has a 31,000-km road network, the largest in the country. Today, as many as 20 lakh people commute by Metro in Delhi.

“Sreedharan was the greatest example of the popular saying, Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. He always gets up by 5.30 in the morning and does yoga for about an hour. He always reached work by 8.45 am and did not like his employees to be late. He would work throughout the day during normal days and also during crisis period but he would not stay in office after 6pm,” said a source close to Sreedharan.

Sreedharan, who could manage a life almost without a mobile phone, laptop or any hi-tech communication gadget, always remained ahead of others when it came to deliverables. It was Sreedharan who first realised the need of safety measures during Metro construction and taught the administration to barricade construction sites, install lights for visibility and also deploy guards.

However, for him, the last few days of his service have been quite action-packed. A few weeks back, he hosted dinner for all heads of the departments of the DMRC and their respective deputies at his official residence in Saket, addressed his employees through monthly news letters, met chief minister over a dinner and thanked his employees via microphone for their cooperation.