New Delhi, July 12: As E Sreedharan walked out of the

eight-storey `Metro Bhawan` on Sunday after resigning as its

chief, his colleagues said they were shocked by the decision

of the "strong but very simple leader".

DMRC officials and workers said Sreedharan`s dramatic

announcement that he was resigning came as a "rude shock" for

them as they never expected such a decision from him following

the accident.

"He is a very simple man who took strong decisions

regarding the Delhi Metro. If not for him, the DMRC would not

have come to this level and completed projects well ahead of

schedule," a DMRC official, who requested anonymity, said.

"We are really upset with his decision and we also know

that he won`t go back on his decision to quit. I can say one

thing for sure that no one can replace him in DMRC," he said.

The official said Sreedharan completed several projects

of the Delhi Metro well ahead of the schedule. "Any other

country will take 50 years to achieve what Sreedharan has

achieved in 10 years."

Another worker at DMRC said Sreedharan was a "very simple

man and his decision has demoralised every worker of the

company".

"It came as a shock for us that he is resigning... we

never expected such a hard decision from him," the worker

said.

Bureau Report