Engineer’s Day as we all know is a day celebrated to honour our best engineers all over the world. It is being celebrated on various dates in different countries. Engineers being the backbone of our nation, play a crucial role in shaping us into a better tomorrow. It is essential that we dedicate a day to them and appreciate all that they’ve done for us.
Why does India celebrate Engineer’s day?
The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) has assigned March 4th as the World Engineering Day for a sustainable world. But why does India celebrate Engineer’s day? The answer to the question is to honour the legacy of the man behind the name Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, shortly known as Sir MV.
Who is Sir MV?
India celebrates Engineer’s Day on September 15 since 1968 to pay a tribute to the greatest engineer India has ever known.
Sir MV born on September 15, 1861 hails from a Telugu family at Chikkaballapur, Karnataka. He did his primary studies in his hometown and then moved to Bangalore for his higher studies. Like the most of us, he too was a confused little kid not knowing what to choose for his career, but then in the end he did end up doing what he loved the most. He first decided to do his UG in arts, but then he changed his mind and dropped out to do pursue civil engineering at the College of Engineering in Pune.
India’s greatest engineer
Being the simple, hardworking and honourable man that he is, he brought so many laurels and glories to our nation. His area of expertise was irrigation techniques and flood disaster management. The flood protection system he built for the city of Hyderabad brought him so much fame. Likewise, he worked on so many projects that ended up being successful.
He worked as the chief engineer in the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore.
He came up with a system to get the Visakhapatnam port into safe hands and avoid erosion by the sea. During the time it was built, this dam easily became the biggest reservoir in Asia.
Besides, it was Sir MV who invented the block system in dams that has automated doors that close during the case of overflows. This is easily one of the best inventions that he came up with.
Adding to that, he brought in the idea of an intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan plateau and patented automatic weir water flood gates. This idea of his was first implemented at Khadakwasha Reservoir, Pune in 1903. When the project ended up being a great success without causing any damage to the dam, the same system was installed at the Tiger Dam and Krishna Raja Sagara Dam.
Glories he brought
The city of Mysore wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for him. And to commemorate that, the people of Mysore address him with love as the “Father of Modern Mysore State”.
During the period of British rule, the Britishers acknowledged all that he had done and provided him with the title ‘Sir’. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V.
For all his works, contributions and successful projects he was awarded the highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna in 1955.
In addition to all that he has given, he has also inculcated us with the knowledge that he knows in the two books he has written – ‘Reconstructing India’ and ‘Planned economy for India’.
The country that celebrates the legacy of Sir MV is not just India. Even Sri Lanka and Tanzania celebrate Engineer’s Day on September 15 to remember and honour him. For his life left this earth in 1962, his soul forever lives in the life of every engineer.
Engineers – the unsung heroes
Survival in a modern world seems like a dead-end without engineering. The world survives on what engineering and engineers have brought upon. Every aspect of our life is somehow linked to the science of engineering. And yet they are the ones that go unnoticed. The world wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for our engineers. We stand down, bowing our heads, owing it all to them. So on this Engineer’s Day, let us take it upon us to lift our pillars of strengths into the spotlight and let the whole world know them for the heroes that they are.
To the pride of our nation, the best of the best engineers out there, a big thank you. Happy Engineer’s Day! Let the legacy of Sir MV live in our hearts forever!
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