Some students and teachers of Bangalore University protested together on Thursday against the construction of a temple inside the Jnanabharathi campus. Demonstrating outside the university head office, they argued that the building would affect the academic environment.

While the students alleged they did not know who sanctioned the construction, according to a report in Deccan Herald, the decision was taken “when K R Venugopal was the vice-chancellor.” The university authorities also explained that there was already a temple inside the campus, which was demolished by the civic body earlier. “It is basically [a] shifting of the temple,” the university official was quoted as saying in Deccan Herald. “We hope students will understand.”

The new site, next to the administration building has left some students upset. “A temple at the prime spot will harm the study environment and may lead to more problems of communal nature,” student association vice-president Lokesh Ram told The Times of India. The student body also argued that a previous court order had said no religious structure should be built in any public institution.