New Delhi, July 12 - Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, who Sunday resigned as chief of Delhi Metro taking responsibility for the collapse of an under-construction elevated track-section, has acquired the sobriquet of the 'Metro man' of India after he oversaw the launch of the metro rail project - a showpiece of the modern urban infrastructure.

Sreedharan, 77, has been at the helm of affairs of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) since its inception and has been instrumental in the completion of the project within the budget and well ahead of schedule.

Known for his efficiency and integrity, the technocrat could not sit quietly as a span of the under-construction elevated route came crashing down in south Delhi Sunday morning, killing five people and wounding 15.

'I may not be directly connected with the accident. But I am the head of the organisation and have to take the moral responsibility,' Sreedharan said.

'I have been in charge of the Metro since (the) beginning. I take full responsibility for the accident, and having taken the full moral responsibility, I resign as the managing director of the Delhi Metro,' he told reporters.

Born June 12, 1932 in Palakkad district of Kerala, Sreedharan has to his credit the successful construction of Konkan Railways - the largest rail project in India after independence by linking the west coast of India.

He graduated from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada, and later joined the Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers.

Though he retired way back as member (engineering) of the railway board in June 1990, the government would not let him go and appointed him as the chief of the Konkan Railway that year.