In News: Named after one of the foremost civil engineers, Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya, the nation’s first centralised AC railway terminal in Bengaluru is set to become operational soon.
About India’s 1st AC Railway Terminal
- The country’s first centralised air-conditioned railway terminal in Bengaluru .
- Named after one of the foremost civil engineers, Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya.
- New coach terminal was planned at Baiyappanahalli in the city to meet the demand to introduce more express trains connecting Bengaluru.
- Built at an estimated cost of Rs 314 crore.
- Modern station buildings with centralised air-conditioning and airport-like facade have been constructed.
- The station building is of 4,200 square metre covered area to cater to daily footfalls of 50,000.
- The terminal has seven platforms apart from eight stabling lines and three pit lines enabling the terminal to operate 50 trains daily.
About Sir Visvesvaraya
- Born in 1861 Sir MV, as Sir Visvesvaraya known for his contributions to several technical projects in his career in Hyderabad, Mysore, Maharashtra and Orissa.
- Completed engineering from the Poona College of Science.
- Work as an Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department of the Government of Bombay.
- In November 1909, he joined the Mysore service as Chief Engineer, ultimately assuming the position of the 19th Dewan of Mysore.
- He took voluntary retirement in 1918 because he did not agree with the proposal to set aside state jobs for the “non-brahmin” community.
- In 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.
Key contributions
- Institute – He established the Sir Jayachamarajendra Occupational Institute in Bangalore in 1943, later renamed to Sir Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic.
- His works, “Reconstructing India” and “Planned Economy of India” were published in 1920 and 1934, respectively.
- His “Memoirs of Working Life” was published in 1951.
- Visvesvaraya was instrumental in the setting up of the University of Mysore in July 1916, as he was the Dewan of Mysore at the time.
- He believed that the aim of an educational institution should be in line with the “state of the country’s civilisation and of its material prosperity.”
- Some of his significant works include the introduction of the block system of irrigation in the Deccan canals in 1899.
- This solved the problem of the “muddy and discoloured” water in the city of Sukkur located on the banks of the Indus river.
- The Krishnaraja Sagar Dam in Karnataka was the first to install these gates in the 1920s.
- He was called upon to deal with an “engineering problem” in the wake of the destructive floods that struck Hyderabad in September 1908.
Source: Indian Express and LiveMint
