Er.Ing. Himmatlal Dhirajram Bhachech, Rao Bahadur - (1844-1922) was a

Civil Engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

in the PWD (Public Works Department) of British India.

Biography

Himmatlal was born into a Brahmin family of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, Gujarat belonging to Nagar sub casteElisabrijana Sarjaka Raya Bahadura Himmatalala Dhirajarama = The man behind the bridge by Vandanā Enjiniyara His father, Dhirajram, died when he was ten years old. Although his family struggled with poverty, he received financial assistance that helped him complete his studies. He received a bachelor of engineering degree from the University of Bombay thru

College of Engineering, Pune COEP Technological University, is A Unitary Public University of Government of Maharashtra, situated in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Established in 1854, it is the 2nd oldest engineering college in India, after IIT Roorkee (1847). The students and ...

.Times of India-Himmatlal,Engineer
/ref> Himmatlal worked as engineer in the PWD for many years. In 1892 he was credited with the re-building of the

Ellis Bridge The Ellis Bridge is a century-old bridge in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It bridges the western and eastern parts of the city across the Sabarmati river. This bowstring arch truss bridge was the first bridge in Ahmedabad, constructed in 1892. Concret ...

of Ahmadabad, which was originally built in 1869. Himmatlal reconstructed the bridge at a cost of only Rs.407,000/-which was significantly below projected budget of Rs. 500,000/- that led the British government to suspect he was using poor quality building materials. An inquiry committee eventually recognized his construction as better than the original work and subsequently honored him for saving the country money. Er.Ing.Himmatlal was honored in 1893 with title of 'Rao Bahadur' by the Viceroy of India, Lord Lansdowne. He was president of Ahmadabad Municipalityin the 1890s and consulted in the construction of Gujarat College;Ahemedabad in 1897. Er.Ing.Himmatlal Dhirajram Bhachech died on September 30, 1922.

Monuments

In 1979, a street in Ahmedabad was named in his honor as 'Engineer Himmatlal Dhirajram Street'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhachech, Himmatlal Dhirajram 1844 births 1922 deaths Indian civil engineers Indian Engineering Service officers Gujarati people Scientists from Ahmedabad Rai Bahadurs Engineers from Gujarat 19th-century Indian engineers 20th-century Indian engineers