BENGALURU: Public access to Gandhi Road inside Bangalore University’s (BU) Jnana Bharathi campus will soon be restricted, following the death of Manasa, a first-year student of the Department of Visual Arts, in a traffic accident inside the campus limits.
The decision came at a meeting on Friday between BU Vice-Chancellor Prof C Shivaraju and Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-West Division) Anitha Haddannavar.
“The measures will be implemented in coordination with the Bengaluru City Police to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students. The meeting reviewed several critical issues affecting safety within the campus, including dense vehicular movement, overspeeding, movement of heavy vehicles and unauthorised parking,” said Prof Shivaraju.
BU will initiate the necessary process in consultation with the state government and the BU syndicate to completely restrict public access to Gandhi Road. Until a final decision is implemented, several interim measures, including the introduction of a one-way traffic system, developing dedicated pedestrian pathways, removing unauthorised roadside shops and installing CCTV cameras across major roads in the campus and integrating them with the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner’s Command and Control Centre will be put in place.
“The university will take immediate steps towards restricting public access to Gandhi Road inside the Jnana Bharathi campus. We will also hold discussions with the local MLA, Munirathna, and Chief Minister DK Shivakumar regarding alternative roads and construction of a flyover on the main Jnana Bharathi Road to find a permanent solution to the recurring traffic and safety issues,” said Prof Shivaraju.
DCP Haddannavar added that considering the narrow width of Gandhi Road, a team of traffic experts would conduct a detailed study on introducing one-way traffic and other traffic management measures. She also said traffic police personnel would be deployed within the campus to ensure effective traffic regulation.