Nanasaheb Peshwe

Nanasaheb Peshwa (also called Balaji Bajirao )(born 1720 or 1721 - Died 1761) was one of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. He comtributed heavily to the development of the city of Pune, India. He was appointed the Peshwa by Chattrapati Shahu maharaj himself. At time of his death in 1749, the Chatrapati Shahu maharaj made the Peshwas the rulers of the Maratha Empire.

During his 20 year reign (1740 to 1761), he completely transformed the village into a city. He established many new neighbourhoods (called peths) like Sadashiv Peth, Nana Peth, Shukrawar Peth, etc. He built the famous Parvati temple atop a hill that overlooks the city and built the first permanent bridge across the river Mutha. (That bridge was made of wood, so the new concrete bridge that stands at the same location today is also called LakDi Pool or 'the wooden bridge'). He also established a reservoir at the nearby town of Katraj to provide clean running water to the city. The 250 year old system is still functioning, but parts of it have been destroyed by careless development.