Students protest over Ganesh temple on Bangalore University campus, seek library in its place

Reports said the vice-chancellor and registrar of Bangalore University have also opposed the decision but the civic body still went ahead with the construction.

Nearly a hundred students and teachers of Bangalore University staged a protest on the Jnanabharathi campus against the construction of a Ganesh temple at a ‘prime spot’ by the civic body. They demanded that a library or other facilities be provided instead of constructing a temple. Staging a dharna in front of the head office of Bangalore University on the campus, the students said the temple would disrupt the academic environment.

Students and teachers staged a protest against the construction of a temple inside college campus.

Reports said the vice-chancellor and registrar of the university have also opposed the decision. However, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) went ahead with its move and began constructing the temple on the university premises.

Videos circulating on social media showed minor altercation between the students and the authorities.

According to a report in the Deccan Herald, the decision was taken when KR Venugopal was the vice-chancellor. “The previous vice chancellor had agreed for reconstruction/shifting of the temple and they even finalised the spot,” the report quoted an official.

On Thursday a BBMP executive engineer allegedly complained to the Jnanabharathi police and referred to the protesting students as 'miscreants', a report in The Times of India said. Soon after, the students resorted to a stir and submitted a petition to the governor and the chief secretary demanding action against the engineer.

The protests started on Wednesday when the students led a demonstration opposing the construction of the temple. According to reports, a temple already existed on the campus but had to be demolished for widening of the road. It was being shifted to a new location by the BBMP engineers, officials said.