Engineer's Day 2019: Remembering Sir Visvesvaraya, the builder of India

New Delhi: India celebrates Engineer's Day every year on September 15 to mark the birthday of Sir Visvesvaraya, Bharat Ratna recipient and engineering pioneer of India. Fondly known as Sir MV or the builder of India, Visvesvaraya was born 158 years ago on this day, in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.

Visvesvaraya was a scholar, a builder, a statesman, an educationist and the most celebrated engineer in India, with his engineering prowess being portraited in distributing of water resources and construction of dams across India in such an efficient manner that his designs have prevented massive flooding.

He had designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune. These gates were employed to raise flood supply level of storage in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained without causing any damage to the dam.

Visvesvaraya gained prominent status when he designed a flood protection system for Hyderabad. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was built.

During his tenure as the Diwan of Mysore, Visvesvaraya remodeled the state into what it came to be known as “model state”. Henceforth, giving him the status of the “Father of Modern Mysore”.

Visvesvaraya was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his exceptional contribution to the building of India in 1955. Besides, he was also awarded the British knighthood by King George V, which prefixed 'sir' to his name.

Extending a tribute to Sir M Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and said "engineers are synonymous with diligence and determination."

Engineers are synonymous with diligence and determination. Human progress would be incomplete without their innovative zeal. Greetings on #EngineersDay and best wishes to all hardworking engineers. Tributes to the exemplary engineer Sir M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 15, 2019

Union Minister Piyush Goyal also remembered Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary and wished people on Engineer's Day. "His contribution is a great source of inspiration for all," he wrote.

Tributes to one of India’s foremost engineers Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary. His contribution is a great source of inspiration for all.

Also, greetings to all the hardworking engineers on #EngineersDay. Your role in nation building is indispensable. pic.twitter.com/z1WkcK3DV7 — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 15, 2019

The official Twitter handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also paid tributes to M Visvesvaraya on his 158th birth anniversary by saying, "Tributes to the engineering father of the nation Bharat Ratna Shri M. Visvesvaraya on his 158th birth anniversary."