Prime Minister Narendra Modi today heaped praise on the role of engineers in building the nation. During his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme, Modi said that engineers have created their own identity in world with their marvelous works. PM Modi said, “our land has been an engineering laboratory,” adding that engineers have made the unimaginable possible. He also remembered Bharat Ratna Dr M Visvesvaraya saying, “lakhs of farmers and common people continue to benefit from the Krishna Raj Sagar Dam built by him.” The Engineering community in India celebrates Engineers Day on September 15 every year as a tribute to Dr Visvesvaraya.
“In this lineage of great engineers, we were blessed with a diamond whose work is still a source of wonder for all. He was Bharat Ratna Dr M Visvesvaraya,” he said. “He is greatly revered in that part of our country and the whole nation remembers him with great respect and regard. In his memory, 15th September is observed as Engineers Day.”
So who was Dr M Visvesvaraya ?
Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1861 to a Brahmin family in Mysore. He was an engineer, scholar and the 19th Diwan of Mysore (1912 to 1918). On September 15 every year, the engineering community celebrates Engineer’s Day in his memory.
Visvesvaraya lost his father at 12. He attended high school in Bangalore and obtained BA degree from Central College, Bangalore. Later he studied LCE (Licenciate in Civil Engineering) at College of Engineering, Pune. He took a job with the PWD of Bombay and later joined the Indian Irrigation Commission.
Visvesvaraya worked on a number of engineering projects. He was chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam on Kaveri river in Mysore. He designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates. These gates were first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Reservoir in Pune. After the success of the system, similar gates were installed at Tigra Dam in Gwalior and Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Mandya/Mysore.
He was instrumental in designing flood protection system in Hyderabad. He also supervised the construction of Krishna Raja Sagara Dam on the Kaveri River in Mysore. When it was built, the dam was the biggest reservoir in Asia.
Besides, he had also made contribution on setting up the Mokama Bridge on Ganga river in Bihar.
Visvesvaraya is also known to have designed and planned the entire area of Jayanagar in Bangalore.
Between 1897 and 99, he was Assistant Superintending Engineer in Pune. He designed and constructed automatic gates patented by him at Lake Fife Storage Reservoir. He also introduced a new system of irrigation known as the “Block System”. He then represented the Bombay Government at the Simla Irrigation Commission. He retired from British service, 1909. The same year, he was appointed as the chief engineer and secretary to the government of Mysore. He then served as the Dewan of Mysore, PWD and Railway. Between 1972 and 55, he was a member of the Board of directors of Tata Steel.
Visvesvaraya was honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the land, in 1955.
