Biography of M. Visvesvaraya, Pioneer of Indian Civil Engineering

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Biography of M. Visvesvaraya, Pioneer of Indian Civil Engineering

M Visvesvaraya
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was an Indian civil engineer. He is considered the father of engineering. He was also a great statesman. His birthday is celebrated as Engineers' Day throughout the countries India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Visvesvaraya was the first man who initiated plans to solve flood and water management problems in India.

Early Life and Education

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1860. He was born in a Telegu Family. His father was Mokshagundan Srinivasa Shastri and his mother was Venkata Lakshamma. At the time of his birth, his birthplace was Muddenahally (presently Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state). His father was a Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His father died when he was only 15 years old.

After completing his school in Chikkaballapur, Visvesvaraya went to his first college in Bangalore. It was the Central College of Bangalore. He completed his B.A degree in the year 1881. Then he went to the College of Engineering, Pune to pursue his civil engineering degree.

It was one of the greatest engineering colleges at that time. There he ranked first in the L.C.E and the F.C.E examination. After completing his civil engineering degree, Visvesvaraya went to the University of Madras and the University of Bombay to obtain higher education.

More Read: Biography of C V Raman. a pride of Indian Science

Pioneer of Modern Indian Irrigation and Flood Management

Visvesvaraya got a job as an assistant engineer when he was a student. The Public Works Department (PWD), Bombay offered him the job. He implemented an intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan Plateau and designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates. It was first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune.
These gates raised the storage level in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained without causing damage to the dam.
These models of dam and flood management systems were praised by all engineers throughout the world. Later the same system was installed at Tigra Dam in Gwalior and Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Karnataka.
For his remarkable success in this field, the government of India sent him to Aden to study water supply and drainage systems in the year 1906. There he prepared a project and implemented it successfully.
Visvesvaraya designed stable and modern flood protection for the city of Hyderabad. This system was so effective that everyone started to think of him as a celebrity!
He also developed a system to protect the city port of Visakhapatnam from sea erosion. It was the biggest dam in Asia of that time. He also played an important note to locate the place to build Mokama Bridge over the river Ganga.

Career

Visvesvaraya was not only a creative and modern civil engineer, but he was also a great serviceman. He served the nation in various important government positions. Some of them are: 

  • Assistant engineer of PWD, Mumbai
  • Engineer of Municipality of Sukkur, Sindh
  • Executive engineer of Surat
  • Assistant Superintendent Engineer of Pune
  • Executive engineer of irrigation of Pune
  • Sanitary Engineer, Bombay
  • Member of Sanitary Board, Mumbai
  • Superintendent Engineer
  • Consulting Engineer of Hyderabad
  • Chief Engineer and Secretary of the government of Mysore
  • Diwan of Mysore
  • Board of directors of Tata Steel

Visvesvaraya also visited many countries for his study and work. He visited countries like China, Japan, Egypt, Canada, Russia and the United States of America. He retired from British service in the year 1909.

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Diwan of Mysore

Visvesvaraya served for the Nizam of Hyderabad for a short time. He suggested flood relief measures for Hyderabad. He was also the chief engineer of Mysore state. After that, he was appointed as Diwan (second minister) of Mysore in the year 1912.
At that time, Krishnaraja Wodeyar was the maharaja of Mysore state. The king took advice from Visvesvaraya to rule the state. He contributed a lot to the development of the people of Mysore. Government Engineering College, Bangalore, one of the first institutes in India, was founded under his guidance. He served seven years as Diwan of Mysore.

Awards and Recognition

Visvesvaraya was a pioneer of Indian modern engineering technology. He was awarded many honours and recognitions for this great contribution in the field of modern civil engineering.
Visvesvaraya was knighted as a Knight Commander of the order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by the British Government.
After the independence of India, Visvesvaraya was rewarded with the nation's biggest honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1955.
Visvesvaraya also received an honorary membership of the London Institution of Civil Engineers and a fellowship from the Indian Institute of Science(IIS), Bangalore.
He also got many honorary degrees including D.Sc, LL.D, D.litt from almost eight universities of India. He was the president of the Indian Science Congress in the year 1923.
More Read: Biography of Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Radhakrishnan
Many institutions are named after him in the country. Especially in the engineering and education field. Such as Visvesvaraya Technological University in Balagavi, University College of Engineering in Bangalore, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in Nagpur, Sir M.Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology in Bangalore, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum in Bangalore. 
But most probably the most important and remarkable achievement for his tremendous works in civil engineering is Engineer's Day.
Visvesvaraya's birthday 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India. Every people, every engineer and every engineering career aspirants celebrate this day in remembrance of this great philosopher.

Death

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya died on 12th April 1962 in Bangalore. Then he was102 years old. His demise was a great shock for all Indians.

Visvesvaraya was known for his sincerity, proper time management and dedication to his responsibilities and works. A very important part of his nature was his love for Kannada. He set up Kannada Parishat for the improvement of Kannada. 


sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Visvesvaraya

https://www.robolab.in/biography-of-sir-m-visvesvaraya-1888-1970/

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