K. L. Rao
Encyclopedia
Dr. Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
: కానూరి లక్ష్మణరావు) B.E., Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(born 15 July 1902 - died 18 May 1986) is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and a Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
awardee.
Honours
In 1963, Rao was awarded "Padma Bhushan" by the president of India for his contribution in the areas of irrigation and power. He worked as president of Irrigation and Central board in the year 1960. He also worked as the president of All India Engineers Association in 1958-59 & 1959-1960. He was awarded doctorate in science by Andhra UniversityAndhra University
Andhra University or Andhra Viswa Kala Parishad , located in Visakhapatnam, north east coastal Andhra Pradesh, is one of the older premier universities in India with a broad focus...
in 1960. He was also awarded doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
by the Roorkee University in engineering in the year 1968.
Personal life and education
Rao was born in a middle class Brahmin family in KankipaduKankipadu
Kankipad or Kankipadu is a village and Mandal in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India.-Geography:Kankipadu is located at . It has an average elevation of 6 metres .-Demographics:...
, Krishna district
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. His father was a village attorney. He lost his father when he was 9 years old. He lost vision in one eye due to injury during childhood days while playing at school. He studied Intermediate (+2) at Presidency College
Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College is an arts, law and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. Established as the Madras Preparatory School on October 15, 1840 and later, upgraded to a high school and then, graduate college, the Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges...
, Madras. He took his B.E. degree from Madras University and he was the first student from Madras University to obtain a Master's Degree in engineering. Later he took his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1939 from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Engineering career
He worked as a Professor in Rangoon and Burma. After completing PHD he worked as Assistant Professor in the United Kingdom. He wrote a book called Structural Engineering and Reinforced Concrete. After returning to India, he worked as a design engineer for the Madras government. He held the post of Director (Designs) in Vidyut Commission-New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in the year 1950. He was promoted as chief engineer in the year 1954.
He is Father of India's Water Management and Agriculture. Because of Him only crores of Indians are getting food and formers are surviving.
He wrote autobiography"The cusecs candidate"
Political career
He was elected as a member of parliament from Vijayawada constituencyVijayawada (Lok Sabha constituency)
Vijayawada is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh. Total electorate is 1561705 in 2007.Vijayawada lok sabha seat has seven assembly segments under it namely vijayawada,vijayawada,kankipadu,nandigama,mylavaram,Tiruvuru,jaggayyapet.After delimitation Vijayawada has 1402904 voters...
for the first time in 1961. He was elected as member of parliament three times from the Vijayawada constituency. On 20 July, 1963, Rao was sworn in as a minister for Irrigation and Electricity in the union government. Under his regime as union minister for water resources, Rao designed many irrigation and hydro-electric projects. The world's longest earth dam on River Krishna in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
is to his credit. Rao worked as union minister in Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Sastry and Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
's cabinet.
See also
In the year 2006, the Pulichintala project, at Bellamkonda of Guntur district, has been named as K. L. Rao Sagar project, the icon of the irrigation engineering fraternity in the country. This decision was announced by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at a meeting with senior officials here on 20 February, 2006. He also met a cross-section of people and political leaders earlier in the day when he observed that the Pulichintala Project, which was contemplated in 1903 and for which foundation stones were laid in 1961 and 1988, was now fructifying as envisaged by Rao. He was the first one to do a complete survey and make proposal to link National Rivers in India but that could not be implemented.According to Dr. Kalyanaraman who started working on this project again in 2003 stated two reasons why the proposal made years ago by the late K.L. Rao to link the Ganga with the Cauvery failed to click was that there was no satisfactory answer to a question whether the Ganga had any surplus water to spare and secondly, the prohibitive cost of lifting water across the Vindhyas.
The Ganga could be augmented by linking it up with the Brahmaputra, the potentials of which had not been fully exploited, and arrangements could be made to negotiate the Vindhyas by laying canals up to the Farakka Barrage
Farakka Barrage
Farakka Barrage is a barrage across the Ganges River, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, roughly from the border with Bangladesh near Chapai Nawabganj District. Construction was started in 1961 and completed in 1975. Operations began on April 21, 1975. The barrage is about long...
and moving downwards via Suvarnarekha up to Mahanadi and downwards.