Mumbai: Girish Bharadwaj from Sullia who is popularly known as the Bridge Man of India  has been honoured with the  Senior Citizens Award-The Unstoppable at a glittering Awards Ceremony held at   Taj Land’s End Hotel in Mumbai, In a first-of-a-kind initiative, CNN-IBN, in partnership with Paranjape Schemes Construction Limited, honoured 12 unsung senior citizens of India, including Girish Bhardwaj  for their brave and inspirational endeavours. Bollywood Badshah Amitabh Bachchan conferred the awards on the inspirational personalities.

These special awardees, well past their retirement age, have been working tirelessly to improve the lives of people around them, thereby making themselves valuable partners in India’s progress. The Senior Citizen Awards – The Unstoppables adhered to a process of selection which had the CNN-IBN Editorial Board at its core.

Girish Bharadwaj’s affordable, reliable foot-bridges are changing village economies and social prospects. Till date he  built over 80 low-cost suspension bridges across rivers in the Western Ghats by using local and eco-friendly resources. In just two decades, he has successfully connected many villages in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

It was in the year 1975 that Girish, an engineering graduate set up a small workshop in Sullia. Named  Ayasshilpa, it has over 70 staff and the team provides highly efficient, eco-friendly, cost-effective bridges that are vital  to several remote villages.