Bridge Man of India Girish Bharadwaj Passes Away at 76 in Karnataka

Girish Bharadwaj, widely known as the "Bridge Man of India" and a Padma Shri awardee, passed away on July 7, 2026, at KVG Hospital in Sullia, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. He was 76. The mechanical engineering graduate from PES College of Engineering, Mandya, had been receiving treatment for a heart-related ailment. 

About Girish Bhardwaj

Girish Bhardwaj, born on 2nd May 1950 in Karnataka, is an Indian social worker who was referred to as Sethu Bandhu and the Bridgeman of India. He spent over three decades doing something most engineers never attempt — building affordable suspension bridges for communities that had none.

1. He constructed around 127 bridges, mostly in remote villages across Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and Odisha. 
2. Each bridge wasn't just infrastructure; it connected villages to schools, hospitals, markets, and government services that were otherwise unreachable.
3. His first bridge came up in 1989, built across the Payaswini River at Arambur in Dakshina Kannada. That single structure set the direction for everything that followed, a lifelong mission to serve rural India through engineering.

Legacy of Padma Shri Awardee Girish Bharadwaj

The Government of India recognised Girish Bharadwaj's contributions with the Padma Shri in 2017, honoring his work in rural infrastructure and social service. The title "Bridge Man of India" wasn't an official designation; it was earned bridge by bridge, village by village, over more than 30 years of quiet, ground-level work that changed lives in corners of the country most people never visit. His passing marks the end of a remarkable chapter in grassroots engineering and rural development in India.