Ever wondered why Brand Bangalore didn’t attract Bush?

Ever wondered why Brand Bangalore didn’t attract Bush?
New Indian Express

Is Brand Bangalore slowly fading away? When the ‘most powerful person on earth’ - that is how Americans love to etch the image of their President in the minds of others - skips Bangalore and is seen brushing shoulders with a buffalo or trying to lift a pumpkin in sun-baked Hyderabad, many in Bangalore must be wondering why Bush did not log in to India’s Silicon Plateau.

At least he did remember the city in the fag end of his tour when he said that “all that separates a business in Bangalore from a business in Boston is an email, a text message or video conference.”

While the Russian President and most European heads of State came to Bangalore to shake hands with IT honchos, take a glimpse of the boom in the city and ink pacts, Bush, like his predecessor Bill Clinton, preferred to stay away.

This is no barometer for a city’s global image, but it is indeed a warning bell.

Bangalore has been having a dream run so far, but no more. In Greek mythology, when gods wanted to teach a lesson to a moral, it was not through bucket full of denials or sorrow.

It was by over-fulfilling his wishes, desires or dreams. Midas, the king of Phrygia, was an example. He was granted the gift of converting all he touched to gold. He soon regretted his gift, as his food and drink were also turned to gold.

Bangalore’s prosperity too has shades of Midas - too much of wealth but too little avenues to grow. Much has been written about Bangalore’s crumbling and creaking infrastructure.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had asked for three months to put Bangalore in order and a month has passed with little result to show. Now the city will have another major problem driving in, thanks to Finance Minister Chidambaram.

The reduction in the price of small cars would automatically translate to more four wheelers choking the roads of Bangalore. Already the city is in the top bracket in car purchases - 550 new cars get on to Bangalore roads every month with very few vehicles getting phased out. All this would make the infrastructure groan louder.

Singapore strictly phases out cars that are more than five years old and restricts new four wheelers trying to get on to the roads through hefty taxes. This results in less pollution and traffic congestions. Of course, the public transport system is highly efficient and the roads are hassle-free.

This is what Bangalore must pitch for - good and efficient public transport system and strengthening of infrastructure. A lot many of these issues are in the pipeline - the Metro, flyovers, an international airport and road repairs.

The problem is that projects aimed at mitigating the hardships of the common man remain in the pipeline for too long; some of them never come out of the pipeline. What is now needed is speed in executing these projects.

The Chief Minister has two more months to show results. And he has more problems, not just small cars, coming is way. It is time for promises to take the reality road so that Brand Bangalore will not fade away.