HDK "Active sabotage will improve city's infrastructure"

B'lore is a brand and will remain so
The Indian Express

HD Kumaraswamy – Chief Minister of Karnataka
With IT becoming the watchword around which India revolves, we asked people across a spectrum of vocations what they think of Bangalore and Hyderabad. Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy kickstarted our special series in an exclusive chat with Biju Mathew.

Bangalore is a brand and it will remain as such. I am not only convinced but thoroughly believe that the image of the city will not take a backseat. On the contrary the city, which is today at the crossroads of development, where its credentials of upholding its infrastructure vis-a-vis the Information Technology industry, will reassert itself in more certain ways than one.

Yes, in due course of time some bottlenecks have crept in the system, where the city has to struggle to prove its mettle in an ever-growing competitive time. The other competitors are striving for this limited space as well. But there is no doubting the fact that it will take time for other contenders in the fray to even come nearby Bangalore. For the time being and in future. Whoever says that Bangalore is missing out on the new investments is, I guess, deliberately wanting to keep himself aloof of the perennial shimmer of Bangalore, which is frustrating all attempts of its rivals to write it off.

Now, with the change of guard in the state, the people can hope of a new revival on all fronts including the IT sector of Bangalore which too, unfortunately, might have bore the brunt of the 'political reasons' coming too heavily on the otherwise bustling prospects of the city.

It is not as if we at the government are not aware of the priorities which Bangalore as an IT city is looking for. We are very well equipped with ideas and policies, which when implemented, will start bearing the fruits for the good of all.

I, as a Chief Minister, am personally concerned with the constraints, which a growing Metropolis like Bangalore could face with an the increasing demand of human resources, land, power and other infrastructural requirements.

This is why on the personal front, I would like to share with you that everything possible at the governmental level is being taken due care of and there are no lapses on our part, which may get losses for the established centres of excellence such as Bangalore.

Moreover it would be wrong to say that no substantial work has ever been done in Bangalore to let the entrepreneurship flourish without any hassles. My part of play would be just to carry forward the legacy, which I have got in the form of a developing and a vibrant Karnataka without losing focus on the IT hub of the country.

The problem of traffic in Bangalore per se is one such thing that has propped itself as a real challenge and without losing any time, we have started paying heed to this immediate call and are quite hopeful that we will reach to a formidable solution that will come true to the expectation the brand called Bangalore.

When I talk about all this existing problems and claiming to be working for the solution of the same, it should not sound superficial. To substantiate this I would like to claim that whatever talks my government does, it already has a proper framework to execute the same, which we feel should go beyond all assurances.

For instance the traffic problem of Bangalore would be solved by the execution of an extensive blueprint, which includes catching whoever breaks the traffic laws, constructing more and more flyovers in the city and also broadening the existing narrow roads to accommodate the present needs. Having done all this I feel sure, to do away with the traffic chaos, which is one of the main drawbacks, which the city is said to be facing while inviting entrepreneurs from all over the globe.

Thus with a proper strategy we will try to remove whatever cobwebs that have come to settle over the city which has witnessed an unprecedented growth in such a short span of time.

Once these cobwebs are done away by our efforts, the garden city of Bangalore will revel in its already established image of the cyber-city of the sub-continent. Believe me!