Girish Bharadwaj

Girish Bharadwaj (May 2, 1950 in Karnataka) is an Indian social worker often referred to as Sethu Bandhu and Bridgeman of India for building around 127 bridges in remote villages across India. He was conferred the Padma Shri award in 2017.[1][2][3][4]

Personal life

Bharadwaj was born on 2 May 1950 and hails from Sullia in Karnataka. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1973 from P.E.S. College of Engineering in Mandya.[1][5] He and his wife Usha have 3 children.

Career

He built his first bridge in 1989 across the Payaswini river at Arambur in Southern Karnataka. Since then, he has built around thirty bridges in Kerala, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, while the rest of his works are in various parts of Karnataka.[3][6]

References

1. "Sullia's bridge-man gets Padma Shri". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
2. "President Pranab Mukherjee confers Padma awards". Outlook. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
3. "Padma Shri award: 'Bridge Man' credits it to his employees". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
4. "Invincible Indians: Solid People, Solid Stories". Firstpost. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
5. "Bridge man Girish Bharadwaj at VVIET". Star of Mysore. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
6. "Padma award winners from Karnataka are an eclectic mix". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 August 2017.