Engineer's Day 2021: Know Why Is It Celebrated On Sept 15, History And Significance

Engineer's Day 2021: In memory of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, one of India's finest engineers, September 15 is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India every year since 1968.

Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya birthday is celebrated as Engineer's Day

Engineer's Day 2021: The birthday of Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India on September 15. His contribution to the field of engineering and education is important. He is considered to be one of the great nation-builders who played an important role in the construction of dams, reservoirs, and hydro-power projects in modern India.

What is Engineer's Day History?

In 1968, the Government of India declared the birth anniversary of Sir M. Visvesvaraya as Engineers' Day.  Since then, the day has been celebrated to honour and accept all engineers who have contributed and are still making huge efforts to build a modern and developed India.

Significance of Engineer's Day

In 1903, Sir M. Visvesvaraya designed and patented the 'automatic barrier water floodgates'. Also called Block System, it had automated doors that close in the event of water overflow. It was first installed in the Khadakvasla Reservoir in Pune.

Born in 1861 in a small village near Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, Sir M Visvesvaraya graduated from Madras University and did civil engineering from the College of Science in Pune. In 1917, he founded the Government Engineering College, now known as Bengaluru's University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering.

How Sir M. Visvesvaraya became a role model

After a devastating flood in Hyderabad in 1908, the then Nizam requested sir M Visvesvaraya's services to develop a drainage system and save the city from flooding. The engineer proposed the construction of storage reservoirs and also built a sewage farm outside the city to check the pollution of the Musi river that flows throw Hyderabad. The British also considered him a brilliant engineer.

An interesting train journey of Visvesvaraya

Once Dr Visvesvaraya was travelling by train in British India. Most of the passengers on this train were British. Mistaking Dr Visvesvaraya as a fool and an illiterate, the British started making fun of him. Dr Visvesvaraya suddenly pulled the chain. After a while, the guard came and asked who had pulled the chain. Then Dr Visvesvaraya said, I have pulled the chain because I guess the railway track has been uprooted about a short distance from here. The guard asked how did he know about this? Then Visvesvaraya said, there is a difference in the natural speed of the train and the sound coming from the tracks. The guards checked the tracks to confirm the same. They were stunned to found out the uprooted rail track joints along with scattered nuts and bolts.

Honoured with several awards

Sir M Visvesvaraya was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955 and was also awarded the British Knighthood. He served as a Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. On Engineer's Day, the nation pays tribute to Sir M. Visvesvaraya.