LOL: Dharam claims he has given city a facelift

‘Murthy sits in US and comments on Bangalore’
Hindustan Times


Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh is fed up with the IT industry’s rantings over Bangalore’s infrastructure. Singh, who completes one year in office on Saturday, told HT that the IT industry continues to criticise him, totally disregarding the facelift he is giving India’s tech capital. Excerpts from an interview:



You continue to be the target of Bangalore’s famed IT honchos for the city’s poor infrastructure.
I can’t quite understand that. So much is being done and they must appreciate it.

But the IT sector is not convinced.
For the first time, so much is being done to improve Bangalore. I can’t understand why there is such a hue and cry. I appreciate people like (Infosys chief) Narayana Murthy. He is the son of a schoolteacher and has done well and I highly appreciate it. People like Murthy frequently go abroad, sit in the US and compare Bangalore with foreign cities and say, “Oh, nothing is happening in Bangalore.” We have our own problems.

Are investors running away from Bangalore?
That’s a myth. Four new IT companies are coming every week, five foreign equity companies are coming every fortnight and one new bio-tech company is starting every fortnight.

Bangalore’s roads are bad and traffic is terrible.
We have identified roads for widening, have asphalted 1,000 km of roads and are improving other roads with World Bank help. The city’s public transport system is adding 1,000 buses to reduce people’s dependence on private vehicles. Metro rail will help and we are also planning a commuter rail system.