By Sara D Benedicta Josna

Bengaluru: The students at Bangalore University staged a protest against the construction of a Ganesh Temple coming up near the administration block on the campus. They said that the matter will be moved to the Karnataka High Court for a stay order.

The students protesting for two days claimed that a temple on the university campus could be a possible trigger for a communal flare-up.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) decided to construct a replacement for a temple that had been demolished for the widening of the Ullal Main Road where it was originally located.

The main concern of the students was, the construction of a temple in a prime location would end up in chaos where people would host marriages, orchestras, fairs, and other such events would result in disturbing the sanctity of the university. The students were mainly worried about the location of the temple being constructed.

Based on the reply received by the RTI, the university is not funding the temple’s construction or maintenance. The original temple stood on the university land which was owned by a trust belonging to the residents of Mallathahalli, an area close by.

The students claimed that there are no proper land records for the temple and blamed the supporters of Rajarajeshwari MLA Munirathna for the construction. They also added that the construction had started eight months ago but was put on hold by the university administration. But the construction resumed this month after the BBMP gave clearance to continue the work.

There has been no response from the BBMP even though the administration sent a letter on Thursday requesting to stop the construction.

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