DRAWING ON HIS EXPERIENCE
TO PERFORM A ‘BIG’ TASK
Pradeep Prasad
Construction Manager (Civil), Heavy Civil IC
Considering the largeness and complexity of the Mumbai Coastal Road project, everyone is hard at work and Pradeep Prasad’s focus at MCRP Package 4 is on the complex task of maintaining logistics to ensure TBM mining, prepare the ground to retrieve the TBM, after mining India’s largest diameter tunnel. “I am also the chief architect performing one of the ancient forms of tunnelling — cut & cover,” he adds. He also looks after construction of the ventilation room (Technical Building) which serves as the lungs of the Tunnel, a ‘first’ in India. “I joined L&T on January 22nd, 2010, and have been drawing on all my experience to perform my duties at this site,” he says.
“We are through with almost 75% of the tunnelling work,” he says with a grim smile, “and should be able to achieve breakthrough in November 2022.” He then says with a huge smile, “we are very close to achieving a world record for the distance tunnelled in a calendar month that will be a great achievement.” True to his word, the team under the leadership of Project Director, Sandeep Singh, set the record by tunnelling a length of 456.72 m, to beat the previous record set by a Turkish company. “Tunnelling is not only about TBM activity,” Pradeep shakes his head. “There is so much more to it including the MEP works, electricals, plumbing, ventilation, firefighting systems, live utilities and finally the road itself.”
One of the sternest tests for the project team has been to work and construct in the congested city of Mumbai. “In most places, we have very little space to manoeuvre, and the Mumbai traffic is the worst,” he grimaces. Constructing on Marine Drive has been particularly challenging, and not just because of the density of traffic, but they are forced to often stop-and-start their work due to VIP movement. “Don’t even get me started on the utilities we have encountered,” he says in exasperation. “All this plays havoc with our delivery schedules and sometimes we just have 2–3‑hour windows to work,” he points out. However, the opportunity to work on one of the country’s most iconic projects and to work alongside several stalwarts in L&T is an experience that Pradeep is thoroughly enjoying.
Before arriving at the MCRP project in 2018, Pradeep spent his first three years with L&T at the Alaknanda hydro project in Uttarakhand, followed by another good five years at the DMRC CC 27 project for the Delhi Metro.
On his home front, Pradeep hails from Hrishikesh, Uttarakhand, is married to Vandana Nautiyal and they are blessed with two sons: 12-year-old Aditya and Vaidik, who is 7. His family also includes his father and mother.
With the Mumbai Coastal Road Project at a very critical stage of execution, the responsibility on people like Mangesh Kumbhar is very high to deliver. “Yes,” he nods, “initially there was a lag because of clearances, approvals, and other issues but we soon picked up speed and now we are moving full steam ahead towards completion,” he smiles confidently. Mangesh joined L&T with the DET batch of 2010 and was first posted in the nuclear division at Kakrapar which he recalls has been his best experience thus far. “It was my first project, and the scope was very challenging, but I was part of a great team, and really enjoyed my 6‑year tenure there. It was a great learning experience for me,” he adds. His next posting at Port Blair to construct an OPS structure for a BEL-IAF combine was equally challenging though with a different set of problems. “Being an island, timely procurement of resources was our biggest issue,” he recalls.
“Since 2018, I have been posted at MCRP, Package 1, and my initial responsibility was cross drainage works in the intertidal zone.” He looks out at the surging tides of the Arabian Sea and points out that working in the inter-tidal zone has been difficult. “The sea gets very rough especially during the monsoon as it is now. We need to respect the power of nature and work accordingly,” he says sagely. Mangesh has additional responsibilities of constructing the bridges and flyovers at the Amarsons Garden interchange. “These are technically very challenging,” he grins but quickly adds that he has an enthusiastic team and that he receives full support from the site management to achieve his milestones. “I am very happy that we completed the huge task of the cross drainage works in good time,” he smiles. “Yes, there has been some flux in the team, but we are managing.”
Mangesh’s better half, Seema, is a homemaker and they are blessed with young Swaransh who is just a year and a half old, with whom he would love to spend more time but Mumbai’s traffic ensures that he spends almost two and half hours on the road commuting daily from his home in Sanpada, a suburb in Central Mumbai.
A look at the various bridges and flyovers taking shape at the Amarsons Garden interchange is almost bewildering but engineers like Mangesh are working to a plan and soon Mumbai will have an iconic new road to reduce travel time in the city.
Ever since he joined L&T with the DET batch of 2013, Liton Paul has been learning to live, perform and deliver under pressure. His first assignment at the Delhi Metro CC17 project where he was looking after the construction of elevated structures, piers, pier caps, and even stations was a steep learning curve for Liton that sufficiently prepared him for his next posting at the Mumbai Coastal Road Project, Package 4, from 2022. “Here, I am in charge of resources, costing and subcontractor management,” he says with a satisfied expression. “MCRP has been a good experience so far for me with very good opportunities for self-learning and self-development. This is a project of national importance, and I am proud to be part of nation building.” One can sense his chest swelling with pride.
Involved in planning, Liton must constantly ensure that the required resources are available as per site requirement. “Planning is just as challenging as facing the hazards of working next to ‘live’ traffic in a viaduct or carrying out tunneling activities, seeking approvals and clearances.” he points out, “and it is our responsibility to ensure timely material supply, unhindered vehicle movement, ready availability of skilled labor; anything and everything to keep the project progressing with speed. After all, we have a tough deadline to meet,” he grins tightly.
“Both my projects, DMRC and MCRP have enriched my experience as a construction professional,” he remarks with feeling. “In large, complex projects like this, good teamwork is critical, and it is great that we are a great team who are very supportive, cooperative and there is a feeling that we are all in it together. We are aiming to set a world record in tunneling for the month of July and that is only possible because of our team,” he concludes with vigor.
Hailing from Kolkata, West Bengal, Liton is married to Suchitra, a homemaker, and they have been blessed with a baby girl, Shivanshi, who is just 5 months old. Commuting in Mumbai’s traffic does take away a lot of time that he would have loved to spend with his family, but Liton is not complaining because he has a huge task of contributing to his team’s effort to build a landmark of the future.
PUSHING PROGRESS BY MULTI-TASKING
Pradeep Kumar Sharma
Assistant Manager (P&M), Heavy Civil IC
In a project of the magnitude of the Mumbai Coastal Road, one can well imagine the humongous quantity of Plant & Machinery that would be required just to keep the ball rolling at site. Pradeep Kumar Sharma is managing about Rs. 70–80 Crore worth of P&M at MCRP Package 4 and seems to be handling the pressure well. “I moved to this project in September 2020 and my first task was to be part of the team to assemble the TBM, ‘Mavala’,” he says, rolling his eyes. “We did not have any experience in TBM assembly, but since we were losing time and expert help was not forthcoming, we took it on ourselves to learn and implement.” The success of the team to successfully assemble the TBM, and complete almost 75% of the tunnelling till date, including setting a world record in the process, is already well documented.
“Apart from the TBM, as P&M In-charge, my responsibilities cover rail-mounted gantries, batching plants, tower cranes, high-capacity DG sets and more,” he says. “With so many things to do, we have to multi-task with care and precision. So far, we have done well, the project is making good progress and we want to maintain the momentum as we have just over a year to complete the project in November 2023,” he says, his eyes squarely focused on his target.
“Resource planning in the city of Mumbai is a huge challenge,” he remarks, gesturing towards the road adjoining the site that is choc-a-bloc with traffic in the early afternoon, which used to be considered a non-peak hour. “The traffic in Mumbai is bad normally but it is worse at Chowpathi more so because of the frequent VIP movement that keeps disrupting our work. To work next to dense, ‘live’ traffic is difficult and, on top of that, we need to be very careful and ensure the best safety standards to keep everyone safe.” Communication and coordination are according to Pradeep the secrets of his continued success.
Pradeep joined L&T at the WDFC project, CTP 1 & 2, tasked to construct the 650 rkm Rewari-Iqbalgarh stretch, and says that he is applying a lot of that learning to his present assignment. “We had only one precast yard but successfully constructed 8 major bridges,” his wide smile reflective of his and his team’s success.
Hailing from Haryana, though settled in Ajmer, Pradeep’s better half is Pooja, a homemaker, and they are blessed with two daughters, 9‑year-old Vidhi and Aradhya, who is 6. When asked about what he does during his free time, he only grins in response.
There is a calm, assuredness about Sravya Peri as she sits to chat at the Amarsons Garden site office of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project, Package 1. Though she could not have been very calm when her Advanced Construction Management course results from NICMAR were inordinately delayed and none of her placements were fructifying. “Although I was one of the 15 students out of 260 who were placed from our campus, none of the opportunities were working out,” she pauses to look out the window at the site and the Arabian Sea beyond. “It was a difficult time and then, almost out of the blue, I received news that I was selected by L&T and I joined in August 2020,” she says with a radiant smile. “I consider my career as a blank sheet of paper, without much knowledge of bridge construction, on which I am drawing a design with my experience,” is her philosophical take on her fledgling career thus far.
“There was almost nothing here when I first came,” she waves to the site, “and then things started with the levelling, reclaiming and slowly the superstructures started coming up.” Being one of the early comers to the site, Sravya was initially involved in several site activities though now with more personnel on board, her areas of attention are planning & execution, handling resource scheduling and management. “People believed in me,” she remarks with conviction. “Being the only girl at site, since the inception, I have never felt like the odd one out. I am surrounded by a team of encouraging and energetic mentors and colleagues who are always there to support and guide me,” her determination shines through. “In fact, there have been occasions when I was at site all night long during concreting,” she adds with a grin.
Some highpoints in Sravya’s less than 2‑year tenure at MCRP are handling important visitors at site. “It was a great experience to welcome SNS Sir at our site when he called on us on December 2nd, 2020, and the other was coordinating Ms Ashwini Bhide’s visit to site.”
“I love to cook which is actually my stress-buster and I make a very good biryani,” she giggles. Her forte is south Indian dishes; listening to melodious music is another way she relaxes. Construction seems to be in her blood from her grandfather, father’s uncle and sister as they own a construction company while her mother is a homemaker, who has been her constant support.
For young Sravya, the canvas is wide for her to make her mark. Here’s wishing that she does so and more.
Neel Kiran Pandurang is blessed with an interesting family: his father is a farmer, his mother a homemaker, his elder brother is in the Indian Army and his sister is writing her UPSC exams. It is not surprising therefore that he is working for a Company that is known for nation building, having joined L&T along with the DET batch of 2014. Neel Kiran’s association with L&T began with B&F IC at the Reliance Township project in Jamnagar, after which he worked at the Gujarat Housing Board project in Valsad constructing 28 buildings and thereafter at the APTIDCO project till the point at which work at the project ground to a halt due to a change in the government. “I enjoyed my stint with B&F, and residential projects, especially working with formwork and aluminum shuttering,” he shares.
In June 2020, he landed at the Mumbai Coastal Road Project, Package 1, where for the last two years he has been busy working on formwork and utilities. “Presently, my primary responsibility is executing bridges, and we have till date completed a total of 5 modules,” he says with satisfaction. “The type of challenges I faced at the B&F residential projects are very different from the ones I face here,” he says seriously. “At B&F, we only had to construct typical buildings. Here, that is not the case at all for there is a new challenge waiting for us at almost every corner,” he literally wipes his brow. “We have to deal with space constraints, the Mumbai traffic, nature and so much more.”
“This Mumbai Coastal Road project, however, is a huge opportunity to learn, and I am learning something new almost every day,” he enthuses.
Considering the magnitude and complexity of the project and the delivery timelines involved, it is critical to have and maintain a positive outlook to succeed. “My aim is to become a team leader,” he shares with disarming honesty, “and that is why I am involving myself in multiple tasks including pricing and building superstructures.”
On his personal front, Neel Kiran is newly married, having tied the knot with his wife, Dhanashri, in May 2022. Spending more time with his wife is certainly appealing but Neel Kiran has a larger responsibility to help deliver a huge and iconic project on time that will certainly change the way the city of Mumbai commutes.