Upon the rock of his idea, was the foundation of modern India built.
On Sunday, PM Modi paid to tribute Sir M V Visevaraya, one of modern India's founding fathers.
Engineers are synonymous with diligence and determination. Human progress would be incomplete without their innovative zeal. Greetings on #EngineersDay and best wishes to all hardworking engineers. Tributes to the exemplary engineer Sir M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 15, 2019
M Visvesvaraya, was a pioneer in his field, credited for inventing the Block System for dams – the automated doors what shut during an overflow.
India’s legendary dam builder was born on September 15, 1861 in Muddenahalli near Chikkaballapur and went on to become one of India’s greatest engineers. He is considered of the foremost nation-builders, creating modern marvels upon which modern India was built.
(All pics from Wikimedia Commons)
1. Birth
)
He was born to poor family in 1861 and raised in Karnataka’s Muddenahalli village. Legend has it that he walked 60 k to attend the United Mission School and wasn’t averse to studying under the light.
2. Academics
)
He earned a licence in civil engineering from the University of Bombay and began working with erstwhile Bombay’s Public Works Division. He joined the Indian irrigation Commission.
3. Work in Education
)
He cared deeply about engineering founding the Government Engineering College in Bangalore in 1917. The college was later named after him - the Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology.
4. Planning Commission
)
He was the first to bat for economic planning, long before independence. To some he was better known as the author of the 1934 book A Planned Economy for India, which would make him the father of the Planning Commission as well. In 1938, when the first rudimentary economic planning began was set up by Subhas Chandra Bose, he was to head it. He was the head of the planning committee but scientist Meghnad Saha said that a politician ought to head it, and Nehru was made the National Planning Committee head.
5. Works
)
His most famous project was the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and Dam, which was India’s largest reservoir at the time. It provided drinking water for several cities. PM Modi has also paid tribute to him in his Mann Ki Baat saying "lakhs of farmers and common people continue to benefit from the Krishna Raj Sagar Dam built by him".
He designed and patented a system of automatic weir floodgates initially installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune. These automates gates were used later in Tigra Dam in Gwalior, Krishna Raja Sagara Dam in Mysore. He also designed a flood protection system for Hyderabad and developed a system to protect Vishakapatnam port from sea erosiion
6. Awards
)
He was appointed Chief Engineer of Mysore State in 1909, given the status of Diwan of Mysore in 1912, awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955. He was also knighted by George V.
7. Legacy
)
He is so honoured in Karnataka that he has his own lyrics in the 1972 blockbuster Bangarada Manushaya, the longest-running movie in Kannada film history which goes: “If Visvesvaraya had not toiled. And allowed Cauvery to flow. And not built Kannambadi?. Would this precious land have harvested gold? Prosperous Kannada land, our prosperous Kannada land?”
