BENGALURU: Two days after a major fire gutted 318 cars in a parking lot at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, another broke out at Bangalore University’s Jnanabharathi campus, off Mysuru Road, around noon Monday.University authorities issued a strict warning to the public, students, staff and morning walkers not to indulge in activities that can cause fires on the campus. With temperatures rising, grass fires are becoming common in the city and its outskirts.
The BU campus is surrounded by 800 acres of forest area, and has abundant dry grass. The fire broke out just behind the campus canteen, following which eight fire personnel rushed to the site and doused it, to ensure that the flames didn’t spread to other parts of the campus.The fire itself was not a major one, but did spark off a scare among the staff, students and public, with the air show disaster on Saturday afternoon still fresh in the mind.
In a public notice, BU authorities have warned whoever passes through the campus not to indulge in activities which result in fire. It has warned against activities like smoking inside the campus and other actions that can cause fires.“Due to rising temperatures, grass in most parts of the campus has dried, and the quantity of dry grass too has increased,” said BU registrar Prof BK Ravi.
Although smoking is banned in the campus, as it is an educational institution, petty shops here continue to sell cigarettes and beedis. “Shops on the campus are banned from selling tobacco. But the public is difficult to control. This is why we have proposed an alternative road for the public outside the campus,” a senior BU official said.“We have asked the university’s horticulture department to clear the dry grass,” added the official.