Hyderabad:Engineers play an essential role in the development of a country. September 15th is celebrated as 'Engineer's Day', honouring the birth anniversary of engineer, and statesman Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, who is credited with pioneering engineering achievements.
It was first observed in 1968 and it has been one of the most significant occasions in Indian academia especially observed by engineering communities across the country. Visvesvaraya’s achievements are also celebrated in Sri Lanka and Tanzania on September 15th as Engineers Day.
Who was M Visvesvaraya?
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1861, in Muddenahalli village in Karnataka. At the age of 15, he lost his father, who was a Sanskrit scholar. He completed his early education in Chikkaballapur and then he moved to Bangalore (now Bengaluru) for higher education. He joined the Science College in Pune to study Engineering and in 1883, he got the first rank in the Examination. After completing his education, he got a job offer for an Assistant Engineer at Nasik from the then Government of Bombay. He successfully implemented various projects as an engineer.
He is popularly known as Sir MV. He was also called the “precursor of economic planning in India”, according to the Institution of Engineers India (IEI)
Father of Indian Engineering
M Visvesvaraya was the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. In actuality, he was the brain behind the Krishnaraja Sagar dam in Mysore and the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad. Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV Maharaj of Mysore constructed the dam during the famine despite the critical financial condition of the state. The dam was named in honour of him.