From the stone age to the modern world, Engineers have always come with innovative ideas to solve the ever-growing problems of Homo Sapiens. And without the remarkable contributions of engineers, the world would come to a standstill. To celebrate this engineering spirit and the birth anniversary of the great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, India celebrates Engineer’s Day on 15 Sept.
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya: A pioneer in engineering
Renowned Civil Engineer and Statesman, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born in Muddenahalli village in Karnataka. The Bharat Ratna awardee is popularly known as Sir M.V and is a role model to many aspiring engineers. In his childhood, Visvesvaraya used to give tuitions to support his meager financial resources. He studied Bachelor of Arts from the University of Madras and further pursued Civil Engineering at the College of Engineering, Pune.
Visvesvaraya started his career as an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department under the Bombay government and worked on several projects in Nasik, Khandesh, and Pune. From there, he switched his job and was enrolled in the Indian Irrigation Commission, where he helped to create a system of irrigation for the Deccan region.
Visvesvaraya played a crucial role in improving construction projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and used his expertise to solve the problem of erosion of Visakhapatnam port from seawater. In the 1900s, Hyderabad city faced recurrent floods problems. As a special consulting engineer, Visvesvaraya supervised the engineering works in Hyderabad and helped to solve the problem.
Designing the flood protection system that Visvesvaraya developed for the Hyderabad flooding problem earned him laurels and celebrity Status. Sir MV was also recognized for his engineering contributions in the Krishna Raja Sagara Dam, Mysore.
Visvesvaraya helped in setting up the Government Engineering College in Bangalore in 1917. The college was named University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering and was among India’s first engineering institutes which gave a platform to aspiring engineers.
Visvesvaraya was awarded an honorary membership from The London Institution of Civil Engineers. The Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) also awarded Visvesvaraya a fellowship. Around Eight universities awarded honorary degrees such as DSc, LLD, and DLitt to Visvesvaraya. Two metro stations are also named after the eminent engineer – Sir M Visveshwaraya Station, Central College in Bengaluru, and the Sir Vishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh station in Delhi.
India has come a long way: Special contributions from our Engineering organizations and Engineers
Organizations like ISRO, ICMR, IISC, IITs, IGCAR, DRDO, and several others have contributed towards reshaping India. The nation was once called the land of Snake charmers and now India is leading in every sector like Space exploration, Economy, infrastructure, healthcare, Agriculture, and many more on the world platform. ISRO has launched several missions like Chandrayan, ASTROSAT, Mars Orbiter Mission, and several others which shows the engineering capacity of the nation.
Institutes like IITs and IISC are constantly producing world-class engineers which are helping in nation-building. The pandemic shocked the world, but the engineering will of India helped the country to fight the coronavirus. A quick supply of oxygen concentrators, Medical oxygen, and Medical aid across the nation helped in curbing the virus. India was also at the forefront in providing help to over 90 countries during the peak of the Pandemic and one major reason behind this success was India’s Engineering spirit.
Today, India is leading in terms of Total vaccination with over 75 Cr. administered doses across the nation. This huge feat in very little time is no less than an engineering marvel and India has been achieving these kinds of feats on a regular basis. This only shows the Engineering strength of the nation and how India is maximizing its engineering capabilities.
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