Engineer's Day

Actualities Of Engineer's Day everybody Should Perceive

As people say, Engineering is not a course, it's a 4 year-long episode of Man Vs Wild, where semesters, mid semesters, viva, practicals, assignments, projects are the wild and a student is the Bear Grylls who ends up learning less engineering and more survival skills in life. 😁

Engineers Day is celebrated in many countries on different days. The Engineering Community across India celebrates Engineers Day on 15 September each year as a tribute to the most prominent Indian Engineer Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. He was also known as Sir MV, was born in 1861 in Muddenahalli village in Karnataka. He was known as the father of Modern Mysore for his outstanding contribution to society. He persisted on to become India’s most prolific civil engineer, dam developer, economist, and statesman. He was one of the most prominent builders of India in the 20th century.

M. Visvesvaraya was also the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He was the chief engineer liable for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam in Mysore as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad. Due to his exceptional contribution to the society, the Government of India awarded 'Bharat Ratna' to this legend in the year 1955. He was also awarded the British knighthood by King George V and hence has the honorific "Sir". 15 September which is his birthday, celebrated as the Engineers day in India.

He also devised and patented the automatic weir water floodgates, first installed at the Khadakwasla reservoir, Pune 1903. He transformed the Mysore state into what was formerly known as 'model state'. Established world over for his contribution to harnessing water resources, Visvesvaraya was, among other things, responsible for the building and consolidation of dams across the country. He is also recognized by inventing the Block System automated doors that close in the conditions of overflow.

He is credited with the modernization of The Mysore Iron and Steel Works, Bhadravathi, and also saved the plant from the brink of closing down. It acquired heavy losses before Sir MV thought the post of chairman, transforming it into not just a profitable entity but the biggest undertaking of South India of that period. The plant now known as Vishveshvarya Iron and Steel Plant is a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited. He developed the Block System of Irrigation in 1899 to regulate the use of water for irrigation purposes more efficiently. The mechanism was employed in Deccan canals and is still effective.

He constructed flood control reservoirs for controlling the floods caused by river Mahanadi in Orissa in the year 1938. The mechanism is effectively used to channelize the water storage for hydropower and irrigation purposes. He used a system known as Collector Wells for ensuring the supply of clean drinking water to Sukkur, Sindh, British India.

He is also recognized for shaping the city of Hyderabad flood-free. He was approached by the government of Hyderabad seeking his expertise for tackling the flood catastrophe of 1908. After comprehending the scenario, he suggested the construction of two reservoirs to contain the flood and embankments of the river.

Sir MV also authored many books including Memoirs of My Working Life, Planned Economy for India, A Brief Biography of My Complete Working Life, Nation Building: A Five-Year Plan for the Provinces, Reconstructing India, Unemployment in India: Its Causes and Cure amongst many others. Aside from his enrichment in the field of engineering, he was also called the “Precursor of Economic Planning in India”, according to the Institution of Engineers India (IEI). His books, “Reconstructing India” and “Planned Economy of India” were published in 1920 and 1934, respectively.

Throughout his tenure with the government of Mysore State and as Diwan of Mysore, he set up Mysore Sandal Oil Factory and the Mysore Soap Factory, Mysore University, State Bank of Mysore, public libraries in Mysore and Bangalore, Mysore Chamber of Commerce, Kannada Sahitya Parishad is also known as Kannada Literary Academy, University Vishveshvarya College of Engineering (founded in 1917 as Government Engineering College, Bangalore), University of Agricultural Science, Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, century club and women's clubs amongst others. The eminent engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya breathed his last in 1962.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. Be like Sir M. Visvesvaraya.

Here's wishing all the engineers a very Happy Engineer's day!!🎊