Before Lord Dalhousie, military boards were in charge of the construction of Public Works. Hence Civilian works were completely neglected by the military board. A separate Public Works Department was established by Lord Dalhousie. The Chief Works of this department was to construct roads, bridges and government buildings. The chief Engineer, other highly trained engineers were brought from England to supervise the work of construction. Irrigational works were undertaken on an extensive scale. The construction of Ganges Canal was completed and was inaugurated on April 8, 1854. Many bridges and canals were constructed and also the construction of Grand Trunk Road was taken up. Dalhousie’s special contribution was the construction of an engineering college at Roorkee and in other presidencies. He thus ranks as the father of technical education as distinct from professional education in India.