People are waiting for the bus inside the campus Bangalore University Jnanabharathi. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
A walk inside the campus Bangalore University (BU) Jnanabharathi reveals small groups of people standing on both sides of the road in three points. At first glance, it looks like a assembly, but when they hold the bus stops of Bengalur Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) when these points can be recognized as bus stops.
At the university there are three points where buses usually stop – near the Civil Engineering Department, near the library and near the administrative block. However, there is neither marking nor any infrastructure to indicate that they are bus stops. Students are forced to stand and wait for buses regardless of weather conditions for commuting within the IZ campus.
In the summer of the afternoon, the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius and many students at the university have just completed the exam.
One student of Master of Arts (MA) waited for the bus near the Civil Engineering Department to leave home in Nayandahall. “It is for us to become a habit to wait for such buses. During the summer we can at least find a tree that stands in the shade, but when it rains, we have to handle umbrellas and if there is too much wind, then we inevitably soaked,” she said.
Students also shared that there was no warranty that buses stop at these points. “They rarely stop near the library. They only stop if someone wants to get down,” the student said.
Demand for an internal commuting system
Even those who remain in the BU hostels are dependent on buses, because hostels are approximately km from some departments, such as microbiology or fine art. Thus, students say that a shuttle service, buggy system or electronic wheels for internal commuting should be set up on the premises.
“My department is near the administrative block. But if I need to buy some food or get some photocopies, I have to go to the other end of the campus. The BMTC buses frequency is not great during the afternoon and we are forced to walk or wait for a long time for road buses because there are no bus hiding places.
Male students have also said that while students can commute free of charge with the Shakti scheme, they should earn at least 20 to 30 GBP every day to travel inside the campus.
According to an official at Bruhat Bengalur University, Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) did not manage bus shelters even after more requests.
Jayakara SU Vice -Rector BU said that new bus shelters would be established briefly according to the initiative of social responsibility (CSR). “We will talk to some companies who want to establish a technically driven e-bus stop with all modern facilities on the premises. We will soon make a decision.”
An accident on academic ground
Most of these problems on the area are not new. In October 2022, students and employees of the university organized demonstrations several days after Shilpa Shri, a 21 -year -old postgraduate student, died after suffering great injuries and tried to take the bus. It was forbidden to forbid private vehicles to the university and introduce other measures for road safety, including designated bus hiding hides.
“In 2022, we placed our requirements in front of the authorities and university officials. Many of them remain unfulfilled. For a university with such a history, it is disrupted that we do not have anything as basic as bus refuge, pedestrian crossings and drinking water, even after it requires Loking RAM.
Students often still face problems such as vehicles that do not stop in pedestrian zones and go through traffic overload in the area. “We have to wait at least 10 minutes at the morning peak in the morning before we cross the road near the administrative block. The vehicles will never stop, even if there is a group that seeks to cross the road,” shared a student from the Fine Arts.
The Bengalur Traffic Police (BTP) said that although it is not possible to ban the private movement of vehicles on the campus from now on, a few steps were taken to make it safer for students.
“We have banned heavy goods and installed marking everywhere. We also installed speed circuit breakers and rumble strips. We also have a new police station and we have also intensified enforcement,” said MN Anucheth, a joint police commissioner (operation), Bengalur.
Published – April 6, 2025 20:17
