Mahadeva Iyer Ganapati

M. Ganapati (1903-1976)^{[1] [2]} was an Indian engineer who was responsible for the construction of many national facilities both before and after independence. The successful completion of the Rourkela Steel Plant in Orissa ^[3] , and many Railway projects including Churchgate Railway station in Mumbai and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) were completed under his leadership. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1954 ^[4] , when the awards were first made. He was the president of the Institution of Engineers (India) for 1973-74 ^[5].

A brief list of his main achievements is as follows:

• Rourkela Steel Plant ^[6]
• Kandla Port ^[7]

• Malaviya Bridge at Varanasi ^{[8] [9]}
• Chittaranjan Loco Works, ^[10]

• Perambur Integral Coach factory, ^[11]

• Vivekananda Sethu, Kolkata (as Deputy)
• Churchgate Railway Station and other Western Railway projects.^[12][13]

His hallmark was the speed at which he completed projects, many of them in record time and without disruption to the existing services. Another characteristic was his ability to tackle very different types of structures and take on projects which had come to a standstill. During the floods in the Damodar River Valley in Bengal in 1943 his quick thinking saved lives as he supervised emergency restoration and reconstruction work there ^[14]

Awards and Honours

• Rao Bahadur, 1946
• Railway Board Gold Medal, 1950.
• Viceroy's Prize from Institution of Engineers India, 1953.
• Padma Bhushan, 1954

References

1. ^ Obituary. The Hindu, Madras, 4th October 1976
2. ^ p. 353, India who's who, INFA Publications, 1973.
3. ^ The corporate story of SAIL by N. R. Srinivasan,Steel Authority of India Limited, 1990. p. 39 (Ganapati is spelt as Ganapathy) http://books.google.com/books?id=RLU0AAAAMAAJ&q=ganapathy#search_anchor
4. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_Bhushan_Awards_(1954–1959)
5. ^ List of Past Presidents of the Institution of Engineers (India) (http://www.ieindia.info/pastpresi1.aspx)
6. ^ Times of India Year Book 1960-61, p.228, lists M. Ganapati as the Resident Director at Rourkela. Link: http://books.google.com/books?ei=eIu2ToCLDcHWrQf1x-jBAw&ct=result&id=F5EjAQAAMAAJ&dq=m.+ganapati+railway&q=resident+director+ganapati#search_anchor
7. ^ Railway Gazette, 103, p. 515, 1955 http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=YcW3Tsz8A8TqrAfijr3kAw&ct=result&id=LYhCAQAAIAAJ&dq=damodar+breaches+ganapathi&q=damodar+breaches+#search_anchor
8. ^ Reference to paper by M. Ganapati in the Journal of the Institution of Engineers (India), p. 683, Bridge Engineering by Ponnuswamy, Tata McGraw Hill, 2008.
9. ^ http://www.irfca.org/gallery/GeneralScenes/archive3/plaque.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1 Link to a photo of the plaque on the bridge showing M. Ganapathi's name as the Engineer-in-Charge
10. ^ Railway Gazette, 103, p. 515, http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=YcW3Tsz8A8TqrAfijr3kAw&ct=result&id=LYhCAQAAIAAJ&dq=damodar+breaches+ganapathi&q=damodar+breaches+#search_anchor
11. ^ Railway Gazette, 103, p. 515, http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=YcW3Tsz8A8TqrAfijr3kAw&ct=result&id=LYhCAQAAIAAJ&dq=damodar+breaches+ganapathi&q=damodar+breaches+#search_anchor
12. ^ Link to Railway Gazette article by M. Ganapati, General Manager of the Western Railways (India): http://books.google.com/books?ei=_4y2To2mL8rorAek4vDaAw&ct=result&id=oX9CAQAAIAAJ&dq=railway+gazette+churchgate+ganapati+western+railway&q=+ganapati+#search_anchor
13. ^ The economics of Rail Transport by J. Johnson, 1963, Allied Publishers, p. 103, refers to two articles by M. Ganapati, General Manager of the Western Railways. Link here:http://books.google.com/books?ei=h462TpnyIYHtrAf4srnmAw&ct=result&id=bWIvAAAAMAAJ&dq=m.+ganapati+western+railway&q=m.+ganapathi#search_anchor
14. ^ Railway Gazette, 103, p. 515, http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=YcW3Tsz8A8TqrAfijr3kAw&ct=result&id=LYhCAQAAIAAJ&dq=damodar+breaches+ganapathi&q=damodar+breaches+#search_anchor