Govt. to decide on ban on entry of private vehicles on BU campus

Students call off protest following assurance of action on road safety

The State government will decide on banning the entry of private vehicles on the Bangalore University (BU) campus. On Wednesday, in a marathon meeting involving the Vice-Chancellor of the university, higher officials of the Police Department, and civic agencies it was decided to approach the State government seeking direction on banning entry of private vehicles.

Following this, university students called off their protest.

The meeting was held against the backdrop of the protest by students. The students had resorted to protest with various demands on road safety measures on the campus after a student, Shilpa Shri, sustained severe injuries when a BMTC bus she was trying to board ran over her. Multiple road accidents have been reported on the campus owing to poor road conditions and other issues, the students said. 

After the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Jayakara S.M. said, “In the meeting, it was decided to introduce several road safety measures. The decision on imposing a complete ban on the entry of private vehicles will be taken at the government level. A sudden imposition of the ban will result in a lot of inconvenience to the general public. Considering the safety of students and those working in the university, several road safety measures will be taken in the coming days.” He also welcomed the decision of the students to call-off their protest. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police Traffic (West) Kuldeep Kumar Jain said that as a short-term measure, traffic enforcement activities, road engineering works, and security measures would be intensified on the campus. The measures proposed include placing 150 barricades, laying rumbling stripes, and illuminating the campus. A student committee on safety would be formed in the coming days. Civic agencies would remove recently laid unscientific speedbreakers that have resulted in road accidents. 

Enforcement activities to check drunken driving cases and helmet and seat belt rule violations would be taken up. Proposals have been made on deploying Home Guards and retired police personnel for providing security on the campus.

Lokesh Ram, a student representative, said, “We are satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. Heads of the various departments agreed to implement traffic and security measures on the campus within a month. If they fail to do so, students will resort to protest.”