Engineers Day
Engineers Day is celebrated 15th September every year. The day is the birthday of Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya was an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. He is a recipient of the Indian republic’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was also knighted by the British for his myriad contributions to the public good. Every year, 15th September is celebrated as the Engineer’s Day in India in his memory.
On this day, people pay tribute to the ingenuity, creativity, and problem-solving skills of engineers, who play an important role in shaping our modern society. Engineers are responsible for designing and creating everything from the infrastructure that supports our cities, to the technologies that power our everyday lives.
Engineers day 2024 in India
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, often referred to as Sir M.V., was born to Srinivasa Sastry and Venkatalakshmamma in Muddenahalli village, Chikballapur Taluk, in the Kolar District of present-day Karnataka. His father, Srinivasa Sastry, was a Sanskrit scholar, an authority on Hindu scriptures, and an Ayurvedic practitioner. The Visvesvarayya family originally hailed from Mokshagundam village near Giddalur in present-day Andhra Pradesh.
Tragically, Visvesvarayya lost his father at the age of 15. The family, initially residing in Kurnool, moved back to Muddenahalli after this unfortunate event. He attended primary school in Chikballapur and high school in Bangalore. He earned his B.A. from Madras University in 1881 and pursued civil engineering at the College of Science, Pune, now known as the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).
Upon graduating as an engineer, Visvesvarayya began his career with the Public Works Department (PWD) in Bombay, now Mumbai. He was later invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission. There, he implemented a highly complex irrigation system in the Deccan region. He also designed and patented an automatic weir water floodgate system, first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune. These gates were used to raise the flood supply level without causing damage to the dam. This system was subsequently installed at the Tigra dam in Gwalior and the Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) dam in Mysore, showcasing its success.
Visvesvarayya gained acclaim for designing a flood protection system to safeguard Hyderabad from floods. He also played a vital role in developing a system to shield Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.
One of his most notable achievements was overseeing the construction of the KRS dam across the Kaveri River. This dam created the largest reservoir in Asia at that time. He rightly earned the title “Father of modern Mysore state” (now Karnataka) for his role in establishing the first electricity generation plant in Asia at Shivanasamudram near Mysore in 1894. During his tenure with the Government of Mysore state, he founded various industrial ventures, including the Mysore Soap factory, the Bhadravati Steel factory, and the State Bank of Mysore, among others. He also encouraged private investment in industry. He was known for his sincerity, time management, and dedication to the cause. Additionally, he was instrumental in planning road construction between Thirumala and Tirupati.
After voluntarily retiring in 1908, Visvesvarayya was appointed Diwan, or First Minister, of the princely state of Mysore, making significant contributions to the state’s development with the support of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. His contributions included projects like the Krishnaraja Sagara dam, hydroelectric projects at Shivanasamudram, steel mills at Bhadravathi, and the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute (SJP) at Bangalore. He also played a key role in founding the “Government Engineering College” in Bangalore in 1917, which later became the “University Viswesvarayya College of Engineering” (UVCE). It remains one of the most esteemed engineering institutes in Karnataka.
For his manifold contributions to public welfare, Visvesvarayya was knighted by the British during his tenure as Diwan of Mysore. After India gained independence, he was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor, in 1955.
Sir M.V. was granted honorary membership in the London Institution of Civil Engineers as a C.I.E. (Companion of the Indian Empire) and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. He received numerous honorary doctoral degrees (D.Sc, LLD., D.Litt.) from various Indian universities and became a fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He served as the president of the 1923 session of the Indian Science Congress.
You can download the Engineers Day PDF using the link given below.
