Mangaluru: Girish Bharadwaj, the architect of hanging foot bridges built across India, passed away at a private hospital in Sullia, in Dakshina Kannada district, this morning.  

He was 76. He is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife had pre-deceased him. 

The Union Government had honoured him with ‘Padma Shri’ award in 2017 for building over 140 hanging foot bridges, mainly for rural connectivity, in different parts of the country. He was popularly called ‘Bridge Man’ of India. 

Known for building low-cost and eco-friendly hanging bridges, 120 of his 140 hanging foot bridges connected people in rural areas. 

Bharadwaj had received a number of awards, including Dr. Kota Shivarama Karantha Huttoora Prashasthi instituted by Dr. Shivaram Karanth Huttoora Prashasthi Prathistana, Kota, Udupi.