With the sprawling Bangalore University campus becoming a challenge to guard after dark, university officials have decided to close two of their four gates between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The move will come into effect from January.
The move also comes after over two dozen sandalwood trees were stolen from the premises, while concerns have persisted about safety of students on the campus. The roads are currently open for the public, who seek a quicker access to Mysuru Road, Nagarbhavi and Outer Ring Road.
K.N. Ninge Gowda, Registrar (Administration) of the university, told The Hindu that gates of the campus leading to Nagarbhavi and Mariyappanapalya would be closed at 6 p.m. Currently, one of these gates is closed at 9 p.m., while the other remains open throughout.
However, Prof. Gowda said the Mysuru Road gate and the Outer Ring Road gate would remain open throughout the night. “We cannot close the road connecting Mysuru Road to Outer Ring Road as it is a public road. But we will write to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and the traffic police informing them of this,” he said. He also said motorists would not be put to hardship and they would have to travel less than half a km extra if the gates were closed.
The demand had come from the student fraternity who believed vehicular traffic, in particular speeding or drag-racing motorcycles, had made the campus unsafe.
Prof. Gowda said the move was their “last resort” as several other measures such as stepping up security had gone in vain.
Students living on the campus have welcomed the move.
“This has been our longstanding demand and we are glad that the university is finally implementing this. This will hopefully make our campus safer. Currently, we feel it is unsafe to step out on the campus after sunset. Although there are several other measures that need to be taken, this is a good beginning,” a student living in the girls’ hostel said.
