Engineer's Day 2021:- 160th birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya

 September 15, 2021 marks the 160th birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya. He made many contributions in the field of engineering and education. After Independence, Indian government honoured him with the highest civilian award of India- Bharat Ratna in 1955.

M Visvesvaraya was popularly known as 'Sir M Visvesvaraya'
(Pic:-Twitter)

In India, September 15 is celebrated as Engineer's day every year to commemmorate the India's one of the finest engineers, Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. September 15, 2021 marks the 160th birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya. He made many contributions in the field of engineering and education. He was popularly known as 'Sir M Visvesvaraya.'

On the Engineer's Day Prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Greetings on #EngineersDay to all hardworking engineers. No words are enough to thank them for their pivotal role in making our planet better and technologically advanced. I pay homage to the remarkable Shri M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary and recall his accomplishments."

Greetings on #EngineersDay to all hardworking engineers. No words are enough to thank them for their pivotal role in making our planet better and technologically advanced. I pay homage to the remarkable Shri M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary and recall his accomplishments.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 15, 2021

Who was Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya? 

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born in the small village Muddenahalli in Karnataka on September 15, 1861. He completed his civil engineering from College of Engineering in Pune. He also remained Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1919.

He was known as the precursor of Economic planning in India. He also did number of works in an irrigation techniques and flood management. He was the chief engineer of Krishna Raja Sagar Dam which was established in Pune and the chief engineer of Flood protection system of Hyderabad.

Sir M Visvesvaraya made Automatic barrier water floodgates in Pune in 1903 at Khadakvasla reservoir. He also wrote books like 'Reconstructing India' and 'Planned Economy of India.'

He also established Government Engineering College in Bengalaru in 1917 which was later renamed as University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering.

Awards and Honours of Sir M Visvesvaraya

He was knighted as a knight commander of British Indian Empire (KCIE) by the then King George VV for his works in public good and designated as 'Sir' M Visvesvaraya.

After Independence, Indian government honoured him with the highest civilian award of India- Bharat Ratna in 1955. He died in 1962 at the age of 101. 

In 1968 after his death, Indian government decided to celebrate September 15 as Engineer's Day every year to honour the Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary.

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