British-era pump lies forgotten at University of Pune

A water pump run on diesel, manufactured in the late 1890s, is lying neglected on the premises of the University of Pune (UoP). Strangely, very few in the UoP know about this artefact lying unattended on the campus. Most of the parts of the pump have been stolen.

The pump is located on the bank of the stone quarry behind the main building of UoP, which during the British regime was the governor’s house. It has two 4-foot iron wheels (diameter), a chassis 6 feet long and 4 feet wide, with the pump strapped with nuts and bolts.

The pump was used to draw water from the quarry for watering plants and trees and pumping water to the tank located on the roof of the main building. “There are some underground pipes on the campus that were connected to the pump,” a senior UoP official said.

The construction of the main building and other buildings on the campus began in 1864 and was completed in seven years. “The stones required for constructing the governor’s house were taken from the quarry. Gradually, rainwater started accumulating in the 12-foot-deep quarry.

The British authorities then constructed a hall and a changing room near the quarry and converted it into a swimming pool,” said a varsity official.

The British, according to the UoP authorities, imported the pump from London. The embossing on the pump reads ‘Engine section, Gwynnes Ltd, London’ and also ‘Agents - Greaves Cotton and Co, Bombay’ and ‘Ruston, Proctor and Co Ltd, Lincoln, England.’

When DNA drew the attention of the UoP official concerned about the deplorable plight of the antique, many of them admitted there was a need to take proper care of it. “We will try to restore the equipment as we have undertaken restoration of many old buildings on the UoP campus,” he said.