Why in news

• September 15 is observed as Engineers’ Day every year — the birthday of Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, a great Indian engineer.

About Sir Visvesvaraya

• Sir M Visvesvaraya’s birthday is celebrated as Engineers Day(September 15th) in India.
• He was the 19th Diwan of Mysore, serving from 1912 to 1919. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good.
• Was awarded the highest Indian honor, the Bharat Ratna in 1955.
• He wrote the book ‘Planned Economy for India’ and is known as the Father of Indian Economic Planning.

Achievements

• Implemented an intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan Plateau, and designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune.
• Chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara Dam in Mysore.
• Designed a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
• He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.