Mangaluru: The ‘Bridge Man,’ of Dakshina Kannada Girish Bharadwaj has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri Award.
Girish is known for the construction of low-cost suspension bridges, which he has constructed in various parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and also Odisha. He started with the hanging bridge at Arambur in 1989 and is now working on his 128th hanging bridge at Sunkasal in Uttar Kannada district. He is 68 years old.
“I am really happy at this recognition and I share this award with my team members - my employees. Though I design these bridges it is my team which undertakes the complete construction work. I am really happy constructing bridges. There are many villages where people struggle to travel due to the absence of bridge. The happiness I see in the eyes of the villagers after the construction of the bridge motivaes me to work more,” he said.
