On Saturday, Google honoured one of India's most revered engineers Sir M Visvesvaraya with a doodle commemorating his 158th birth anniversary. A Bharat Ratna awardee, Visvesvaraya is known for designing one of the best flood management systems of his time.
For instance, he submitted a report in 1909, a year after one of the worst floods in Hyderabad's history. The solution he devised involved creating storage reservoirs above the city. The reservoirs would store water that exceeded the Musi river's capacity.
The Doodle also immortalises one of Visvesvaraya's most notable projects - the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam, which was built in 1924. At the time, it was the largest reservoir in India.
He is renowned for being among the foremost nation-builders in India in the 20th century and his birth anniversary is celebrated as Engineers' Day in the country.
Twitter users paid tribute to Visvesvaraya on Saturday listing out the number of achievements credited to him.
On #EngineersDay, I congratulate our hardworking engineers and appreciate their dexterity as well as dedication. Their role in nation building is extremely vital.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 15, 2018
I also pay tributes to the noted engineer, Shri M Visvesvaraya, on his birth anniversary. pic.twitter.com/A5ITMon7Up
Remembering a great son of Karnataka & India, the genius responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara(KRS) dam & several other mega projects like the Bhadravathi Steel Plant.
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 15, 2018
My humble tribute to Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya on #EngineersDay pic.twitter.com/ymIlHpY6uj
#EngineersDay - this is where the great man was born - Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Vishweshwarayya - technocrat, administrator and visionary, at this village called Muddenahalli near Chikkaballapur in Karnataka! The second house was constructed when he was the Diwan of Mysore! pic.twitter.com/OFpRnQppT2
— Ananth Rupanagudi (@rananth) September 15, 2018
Tributes to the engineering father of the nation Bharat Ratna Shri M. Visvesvaraya on his 157th birth anniversary. #EngineersDay pic.twitter.com/zkq2jDez86
— BJP (@BJP4India) September 15, 2018
Pay my tributes to Bharat Ratna Shri M Visvesvaraya, an engineer and able statesman, on his birth anniversary.
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) September 15, 2018
I also congratulate all our engineers, who help propel the nation forward with their skills, hardwork and dedication, on the ocassion of #EngineersDay. pic.twitter.com/wkpdrurAXu
Who is Sir M Visvesvaraya?
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861 in Muddenahalli in present-day Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka and erstwhile part of the Mysore kingdom. He even went on to become the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918.
He would reportedly walk 60 km to Bengaluru to attend United Mission School. After studying Civil Engineering from the University of Bombay, Visvesvarayawas employed in the city's Public Works Division before he joined the India Irrigation Commission.
He is known for designing one of the best flood management systems of his time in Hyderabad and for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya. He is also credited with the construction of a number of hydro-power projects, reservoirs and dams across several southern Indian states. He also came up with the Block System in reservoirs and dams - automatic doors that close when there is an overflow.
Among the many honours conferred to him is the Bharat Ratna in 1955 and the British Knighthood by King George V, thus giving him the honorific prefix 'Sir' in his name.
He is globally renowned for his contributions to engineering around the time of India’s independence.
His design of a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad and irrigation plans for the port town of Vishakhapatnam made him a celebrity; but he lived a simple life and disciplined life, rising at 5 am every day.
He also founded the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru in 1917. The college was later named after him.
It is only a fitting tribute to the man that September 15 is celebrated as Engineer's Day and a Google Doodle has been created to honor him.