Comprehension:
Read the given passage and answer the following questions.
Itâs hard to imagine urban India without its metro trains, the giant aluminium snakes sliding
above and below the grounds of bustling metropolises, carrying in its bellies Indiaâs teeming
millions. Delhi has the largest network, 389 kilometres and 285 stations. Mumbai, which will
build 235 km by 2025, is close on its heels. Ten other Indian cities have metros, 15 more have
it in various stages of completion. And itâs clear why. An Indian city feels it has arrived only
when it has a metro rail, the fastest, most economical and non-polluting mass rapid transport
solution. Most of the credit for this urban engineering marvel being replicated across India
goes to one engineer, E Sreedharan, popularly known as âMetro Manâ.
Sreedharanâs first brush with fame was repairing the Pamban bridge in 1963, parts of which
had been washed away in a cyclone. The railways estimated it would take six months to repair
the sole link between mainland India and Rameshwaram. Sreedharan did it in just 46 days. A
legend was born. But significant as it was, even this wasnât a turning point in his life. âI had a
very ordinary, uneventful career in the Indian Railways from December 1954 to June 1990. No
doubt, restoration of the Pamban bridge gave me an excellent opportunity to demonstrate my
technical and organisational competence. But it wasnât a turning point in my careerâ.
What was it then? Sreedharan says it was a stirring article in Readerâs Digest, which
highlighted the need for âout-of-the-boxâ thinking when faced with a major challenge. He was
then Member (Engineering) on the Railway Board in 1990. It so happened that the senior
railway engineer, in what seemed like the last phase of his career, was facing what appeared
to be an insurmountable challenge. Railways minister George Fernandes had mentioned his
dream project, a Mumbai to Mangalore railway line that would complete Indiaâs last great
missing rail link.
Based on your reading of the passage answer the following questions by choosing the best
option.
Select one correct option: