Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya

     Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was a popular Indian engineer, scholar, and statesman. he was born in 15 September 1860 at Muddenahalli, Karnataka. He is a recipient of the Bharat Ratna in the year 1955. He was also knighted as a Commander of the Indian Empire by King George V for his multiple contributions to the public good. 15 September is celebrated as the Engineer’s Day every year in India in his memory.


Engineer’s Day is a tribute to the greatest Indian Engineer and statesman. He served as the chief engineer during construction of Krishna Raja Sagara on the Kaveri River near Mysore. He was also involved in the construction of many dams in the Bombay presidency (Maharashtra). The dams built under his supervision are living testimony to his brilliance, engineering skills, honesty, great work and dedication.   

1. He was born to Srinivasa Sastry and Venkachamma at Muddenahalli village, Kanivenarayanapura hobli, Chikkaballapur District of Karnataka. At that time it was part of princely state of Mysore.
2. He did his B.A. from the Madras University in 1881 and then studied civil engineering at the College of Science (College of Engineering), Pune.
3. After completing his engineering, he got a job in the Public Works Department (PWD) of Bombay. Later he joined the Indian Irrigation Commission where he implemented an extremely intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan area.
4. He became the first engineer to attain status when he designed a flood protection system to protect the city of Hyderabad from floods.
5. He is known as the “Father of modern Mysore state” as he played the key role in the foundation of the Mysore Soap Factory, the Parasitoide laboratory, the Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, the Bangalore Agricultural University, the State Bank of Mysore, The Century Club, Mysore Chambers of Commerce and numerous other industrial ventures.
6. He also supervised the construction of the Krishnaraja Sagara dam(KRS) dam across the Cauvery River. At that time, this dam was the biggest reservoir in Asia.
7. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955.
8. He was knighted as a Commander of the Indian Empire by King George V for his contribution in the field of engineering.
9. He was also awarded honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers for an unbroken period of 50 years.
10. In honor of Sir Visvesvarayya, a number of educational institutions are currently running in country. Some of them are: Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (V.N.I.T.), Nagpur.

 projects by  Visvesvaraya :

• The Mysore iron and Steel works at bhadravathi (1918-1929)

• Block system of Irrigation (1899) 

• Controlling flood havoc in Orissa (1938)

• Water supply to Sukkur in Sind in the banks of river Indus (1895)    

• Flood Protective dams and Embankments for Hyderabad (1909)

• Automatic gates Patented by Visvesvaraya (1903)
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 Some of his contributions to the field of Civil engineering are :

• Architect- Krishnarajasagara (KRS dam)
• Founder- Bhadravathi Iron and Steel Works.
• Founder -Mysore Soap Factory and Mysore Sandal Oil Factory.
• Founder -University of Mysore.
• Founder – State Bank of Mysore.
• Founder – Government Engineering College, Bangalore.
• Founder – Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• Designed and constructed Mumbai’s Marine Drive and its water supply system.
• Prepared blue print for water supply and drainage system of the port city of Aden, Yemen.
• Designed and executed water works for Sukkur town, Pakistan.

 Some of the honours and laurels conferred on Sir M. Visvesvaraya:

• 1904: Honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers for an unbroken period of 50 years
• 1906: “Kaisar-i-Hind” in recognition of his services
• 1911: C.I.E. (Companion of the Indian Empire) at the Delhi Darbar
• 1915: K.C.I.E. (Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire)
• 1921: D.Sc. – Calcutta University
• 1931: LLD – Bombay University
• 1937: D.Litt – Benaras Hindu University
• 1943: Elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Institution of Engineers (India)
• 1944: D.Sc. – Allahabad University
• 1948: Doctorate – LLD., Mysore University
• 1953: D.Litt – Andhra University
• 1953: Awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Town Planners, India
• 1955: Conferred ‘ BHARATHA RATNA’
• 1958: ‘Durga Prasad Khaitan Memorial Gold Medal’ by the Royal Asiatic Society Council of Bengal
• 1959: Fellowship of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

When he reached the age of 100, the Government of India brought out a stamp in his honor. Sir Visvesvaraya passed away on April 14, 1962 at the age of 101.