Accolades for IT firm

SOCIAL COMMITMENT: The traffic island maintained by a software company in Bangalore that won the award, The Hindu

Accolades for IT firm
The Hindu

BANGALORE: There was a time when the city was full of circles, which served as mini-parks. However, the increase in traffic forced the authorities to do away with many of these circles, such as the once well-known Richmond Circle, which had plenty of flowering plants.

With the civic body and the Horticulture Department strapped for funds and unable to maintain these circles properly, several traffic islands had become neglected and full of weeds.

Over the past few years, leading corporates, particularly IT firms, have been roped in to maintain these traffic islands. The price paid is usually a plaque or sign with the company's name and logo. While IT majors such as Infosys and Wipro have developed parks, some others have "adopted" traffic islands.

Sonata Software, a leading IT consulting and software services company, has now been awarded the first prize by the Mysore Horticultural Society for maintaining traffic islands in many parts of the city. The IT firm has so far set up 15 such traffic islands around Cubbon Park and Lalbagh.

The company has been creating a number of islands at busy intersections in association with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the traffic police. Apart from easing congestion and providing for smooth flow of traffic, these islands add a touch of beauty to the otherwise dull cityscape.

According to B. Ramaswamy, President and Managing Director of Sonata Software, "We understand that as a corporate citizen, we must perform our bit to enhance the beauty of the place where we work. Our initiatives must contribute to the an environment our children can look forward to ... we want to build a city that every resident is proud of."

The community-based projects of the company are not likely to come to an end anytime soon, he said. Sonata has take up other initiatives in Bangalore and is setting up a school in the tsunami-affected village of Tharangambadi in Tamil Nadu.