Engineers Day: Rare Facts About Sir M Visvesvaraya (The First Engineer Of India)

Engineering was always a popular field but it gained due recognition because of the remarkable contribution of Sir M Visvesvaraya. It was his efforts that today each and every engineer irrespective of their field can feel proud to be one among them. 15th September is celebrated as Engineers day every year to mark his birth anniversary.

Read further to know the significance and unknown facts about Sir M. Visvesvaraya that every Engineer must be familiar with.

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1. Engineering Was Not His First Choice

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born in the Muddenahalli village of Karnataka on 15th September 1861. He initially graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Madras University and later earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the College of Science, Pune.

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2. First Engineer Of India

Engineering is one of the popular fields today but India has very few engineers then and Sir M Visvesvaraya was the first among all. He got his first job as Assistant Engineer in a Government institution.

3. Got Patent For Block System

The modern water barrier systems are improved versions of the original block system developed by him.

4. Once Nizam of Hyderabad Asked Visvesvaraya For Help 

In 1908 when the city of Hyderabad was severely affected by the flood then Nizam of Hyderabad asked him to come up with a solution. He invented a drainage system to prevent water overflow from the Musi River.

He even designed a sewage system to block any water pollutants to degrade the water quality of the Musi River.

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5. Developed Largest Reservoir of India

Though he had constructed several dams and water reservoirs, Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and Dam was a key project. It is built on the Kaveri River and has a huge capacity to store water. He was a chief engineer then and constructed the dam despite the poor financial and famine situation in the state.

6. Founder Of Bengaluru College of Engineering

He had founded a Government Engineering College in 1917. Later, the name of the college was changed to Visvesvarya Institute of Technology.

7. Father Of Planning Commission

Although Jawaharlal Nehru was heading the National Planning Committee Visvesvaraya was the first to introduce it. He even wrote a book “ A Planned Economy for India”

8. Diwan of Mysore

Sir M Visvesvaraya was not only an engineer was also a Diwan of Mysore. He received the title in 1912 and served as Diwan till 1918. He was honored with Bharat Ratna, one of the highest honors of India In 1955 for his contribution.

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9. Savoir of Karnataka

Karnataka feels grateful to Sir M Visvesvaraya for saving the state from the impact of the Cauvery River and building the Krishna dam. There’s also a movie titled Bangarada Manushaya to show his legacy and work. The movie is one of the longest-running movies in history.