Nothing official about Bill’s visit

Nothing official about Bill’s visit
Deccan Herald

Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates is scheduled to arrive in Bangalore on Friday around lunch time.....

Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates is scheduled to arrive in Bangalore on Friday around lunch time. But up until Wednesday, the protocol wing of the coalition government in Karnataka did not have any information on Gates’ itinerary in the City.

During his half-day visit, he will be present at three functions and fly out of the country in the evening.

Unlike the IT czar’s last visit to Bangalore three years ago when Gates had a warm reception from IT-friendly former chief minister S M Krishna, there seems to be nothing “official” about his trip to Bangalore this time round.

Meanwhile, police has made special security arrangements for Gates’ visit. Deputy Commissioner of Police (VVIP Security) R Ramesh said a private security agency has been awarded the contract for security arrangements at Palace Grounds, where Gates will be addressing software developers and IT professionals. These security arrangements will in turn be closely monitored by senior police officers of the State.

“There has been no request for specific security protocol by the Centre. Also, the Reserve Police Force has not been called in for additional security as Gates is on a private business tour to India,” he said.

When asked if any official meeting had been scheduled with Chief Minister Dharam Singh on Gates’ visit to Bangalore, a senior official from Microsoft had this to say: “Though there was no request from the government’s side, we invited the chief minister and (JD-S leader) Deve Gowda to the inauguration of the new Microsoft facility, off Airport Road. We are honoured that they have agreed to attend the function.” The State Secretariat confirmed that the chief minister will not be present in the City when Gates arrives as he will be leaving for Tirupathi early on Friday morning and will be back just in time for the inauguration of the Microsoft facility. This is in stark contrast to Gates’ last visit to Bangalore, when he had closed door meetings with Mr Krishna and firmed up two initiatives.

The software king was to assist the State government set up ‘Bangalore One’ – kiosks for payment of all utility bills, application for passports, purchase of cinema tickets, etc – which was inaugurated in April this year. The Smart School programme, modelled on Microsoft’s “Connected Learning” vision was to support computer education in 1,000 schools across the State.

IT Secretary Shankaralinge Gowda said the chief minister’s meeting with Gates would be routine, with no official agenda.

Gates is expected to arrive in Bangalore around 1 pm and will head straight to Palace Grounds to address developers and IT professionals from 3 pm to 4 pm, in an event titled “Bill Gates LIVE in Bangalore – Ready 2005”. The event marks the launch of Microsoft’s integrated computing platform: SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006.

At 4 pm, Gates will inaugurate MAIT’s Digital Lifestyle 2005, also at Palace Grounds. MAIT has tied up with Trade Fairs & Conferences International to organise this event which will showcase the latest technologies.