At last, there is some good news from the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU). At a time when heritage buildings are being denotified in the city, a student has taken the initiative to preserve one. It is not exactly a building but a 200-year-old well located on the campus.
Christina Canton from Jharkhand, a BA (French) first-year student, has filed an online petition on change.org and addressed it to President Pranab Mukherjee, no less. The well in question, built during the Asaf Jahi period, used to be a platform for cultural activities but has been lying in a state of neglect for many years now and is littered with plastic bottles and bags.
“In 2008, they had promised to preserve the well and then, engineers and conservation architects had visited the site. Even after four years, nothing has changed,” said Christina, explaining the reasons for filing the petition. “I have been thinking about some ways to preserve the well. We are all proud of its heritage. But complaining to the administration will not help,” she pointed out. According to her, the only way to preserve the well is by inscribing it on the UNESCO’s world heritage list. “I started the campaign on Saturday and I do not know how far it would go. But I wish it features in the tentative list at least,” she added. Her petition has garnered over 100 supporters already.
She said the EFLU administration had failed to maintain the well following a clean up drive undertaken by a group of students about a month ago. She said a little bit of background research about the website had made her confident about the move. “Though I started it alone, I have the support of all my friends,” she said.
The university had earlier planned a scientific renovation of the structure to restore its past glory. The well, which has many corridors and platforms in two decks, was featured in the recent heritage list of the HMDA.