पूर्वा चतुर्वेदी
Engineer’s Day is celebrated on September 15 every year to mark the birth anniversary of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Here’s everything you must know about the eminent engineer.
Who was Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya?
Visvesvaraya started his career as an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department of the Government of Bombay and made significant contributions. To many technical projects in Mysore, Hyderabad, Odisha and Maharashtra. He was appointed as the Diwan of Mysore in 1912 . As well as chief engineer. He constructed the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam in the city.
Awards and Honours :
The government of India awarded Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya with the highest possible civilian honour – Bharat Ratna in 1955 for his outstanding contributions to industrial, economic, and social projects. He was also graced with the British Knighthood by the then King George VV, which put ‘Sir” before his name.
More about Engineers’ Day
September 15 is celebrated as Engineers’ Day not only in India but also in Sri Lanka and Tanzania
In 2018, PM Modi commended the engineers of the country. He took to Twitter to honour engineering genius M. Visvesvaraya. “On #EngineersDay, I congratulate our hardworking engineers and appreciate their dexterity as well as dedication. Their role in nation building is extremely vital. I also pay tributes to the noted engineer, Shri M Visvesvaraya, on his birth anniversary,” he wrote.
Significant contributions of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya:
His notable contributions include the block system of irrigation in the Deccan canals in 1899 and the flood protection system in Hyderabad.
The automatic water floodgates, initially installed at the Khadakwasla reservoir in Pune in 1903, were later patented and the government of India also graced him with ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his work.
He also established the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru in 1917, which was later renamed as University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. An architect of Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, he also served as one of the chief engineers of the flood protection system in Hyderabad.
