Engineer Day 2022: India celebrates National Engineer Day every year on 15 September to recognize and honor the achievements of the great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. On 15 September, Visvesvaraya’s great works are celebrated as Engineer’s Day in India as well as in Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
In 1968, the Government of India decided to observe September 15 as National Engineers Day. As per reports, India has the second largest number of engineers in the world.
Born on September 15, 1861 in Muddanahalli village in Karnataka, Visvesvaraya completed his schooling in his hometown and later went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Madras University. He then switched to a different career path and did a Diploma in Civil Engineering at the College of Science in Pune.
He was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his exceptional contribution to the building of India in 1955. He has also conferred the British knighthood and served as Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918.
The creation of ‘block systems’ is attributed to Sir MV. He patented and installed an irrigation system with water floodgates at a reservoir near Pune to raise the water supply level and storage. This irrigation system which was installed at the Khadakvasla Reservoir, was later installed at Tigra Dam at Gwalior and Krishnaraja Sagara Reservoir, KRS Dam in Mysuru.
He is also credited for founding many industries such as the State Bank of Mysore, Mysore Soap Factory, Bangalore Agricultural University, Government Engineering College, and many more. These industries were extremely beneficial and provide a livelihood to the people of Mysore.
The day is celebrated to honors the efforts of engineers whose innovations and ideas have made the lives of humans easier.