Karmayogi: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

by M.S. Ashokan

The success of the Konkan mission earned international repute for Sreedharan. Post-independent India had undertaken numerous big-ticket projects in the sectors of rail, roads and irrigation. The Konkan mission had been an incredibly daring one. The media celebrated Sreedharan as nothing short of a superhuman. The construction of the Konkan line had become a textbook model for future projects. Amid all the celebrations, Sreedharan openly acknowledged the freedom he had enjoyed and the authority he was able to wield while in the top post at KRCL, which was a new entity and remarkably different from the railways. There had been several obstacles in his path, created by political and official cliques, and he had had no choice but to take them on. The responsibilities began from finding funds for the mission and stretched to solving everyday issues at the worksites. There was no way he could have achieved anything without the support and trust of his colleagues—this was how Sreedharan viewed the Konkan mission.