10 Things To Know About Vishveshwaraya

10 Things To Know About The Great Engineer Mokshagundam Vishveshwaraya

(15 September, 1861-12 April, 1962)



Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was truly one of the most eminent engineers ever produced by India. An engineer par excellence, he was the chief architect behind the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya which helped convert the surrounding barren lands into fertile grounds for farming. He was always an idealistic person and he believed in simple living and high thinking.

Here are some of the things to know the Great Engineer better.

1. Born into a Telugu Brahmin Family in a village near Bangalore, he completed his Primary Education from his village school and went to high school in Bangalore.



2. He joined the Central College in Bangalore. Being a good student he always was, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1881 in spite of all the hardships in his life and he later went to the Prestigious College of Engineering at Pune after he managed to get some help from the Government.

Central College, Bangalore


3. After his Graduation in 1884, he found  a job with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Mumbai and joined as an Assistant Engineer. He then joined The Indian Irrigation Commission and helped to implement a Complex System of Irrigation in the Deccan Area.

Mumbai in the year 1890.

4. He designed and carried out the Waterworks for the Municipality of Sukkur in 1895. He is credited with the development of the Block System which would prevent the wasteful flow of water in dams.




5. His work was becoming so popular that the Government of India sent him to Aden to study Water Supply and Drainage System in 1906-07. He did so and designed a Project based on his study which was implemented in Aden.




6. When the Vishakapatnam Port was in danger of being eroded from the sea, Vishveshwaraya with his high intelligence and capabilities came up with a good solution to solve this issue.




7. During the decade of the 1900's, Hyderabad City was reeling under the threats of flood. Once again the brilliant Engineer supervised the engineering work at Hyderabad by lending his services as a Special Consulting Engineer in 1909.




8. He was appointed as the Chief Engineer of Mysore State in 1909 and as the  Diwan of the Princely State of Mysore in 1912, a position he held for 7 years.




9. He served as the Chief Engineer for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagar Lake and Dam in 1924, across river Kaveri in Mandya District near Mysore in Karnataka.




10. He is a recipient of several Honorary Doctoral Degrees from Eight Universities of India. Vishveshwaraya was Knighted as the Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire by the British for his contributions to the society in 1915. He was awarded with Independent India's Greatest Honor, The Bharat Ratna in 1955 for his relentless work in the fields of Engineering and Education.





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