In Context
- Every year on September 15, India along with Sri Lanka and Tanzania celebrate National Engineer’s day to recognise and honour the achievements of the great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
About
- This day is observed to acknowledge and honour all engineers in the country who have contributed and are still working towards a modern and developed India.
- India has been celebrating Engineers Day on September 15, since 1968.
- It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
About Sir M.Visvesvaraya
- Born in 1861, Sir Visvesvaraya completed his engineering from the Poona College of Science.
- He worked as Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department, Maharashtra.
- He was 22 at that time and one of his first projects was to construct a pipe syphon across one of Panjra river’s (in Maharashtra) channels.
- His work was becoming so popular that the Government of India sent him to Aden (Yemen) to study water supply and drainage systems in 1906-07.
- In November 1909, he joined the Mysore service as Chief Engineer, ultimately assuming the position of the 19th Dewan of Mysore.
- He was an Engineer who had planned the Indian Economy in 1934.
- He took voluntary retirement in 1918 for a social cause.
- He passed away in 1962 leaving behind a legacy in the technical field.
Major Contributions:
- He established the Sir Jayachamarajendra Occupational Institute in Bangalore in 1943. It was meant to impart special training to technicians keeping in mind the impending industrial development of India.
- His works, “Reconstructing India” and “Planned Economy of India” were published in 1920 and 1934, respectively.
- His “Memoirs of Working Life” was published in 1951.
- Technical Contributions:
- He played a significant role in constructing dams, reservoirs and hydro-power projects across India.
- His high architect projects are Krishna Raja Sagar dam in Karnataka and flood protection system in Hyderabad.
- He also designed ‘automatic barrier water floodgates’ installed at the Khadakvasla reservoir in Pune in 1903.
- Accreditation under his name:
- In 1912, he was appointed as the Dewan by the Maharaja of Mysore. He worked persistently for the overall development of the state.
- In 1915, he was knighted as the Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by the British for his work and contribution to society.
- In 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.
- He was awarded an Honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers for an unbroken 50 years.
- An irrigation system called ‘block system’ was patented by his name, in 1903.
- He was also known as the “Father of Modern Mysore State”.
Source: IE
