It’s time for quarterly rumblings

It’s time for quarterly rumblings
Wipro, Biocon Chiefs Hold Forth On Infrastructure Woes
The Times of India

Bangalore: Quarterly results and infrastructural rumblings seem to go hand in hand. Every time Bangalore’s big three — Infosys, Wipro and Biocon — make corporate announcements, roads and flyovers take centre stage. Wednesday was no different when Wipro chairman Azim Premji and Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw did not let the opportunity go.
While Premji was critical of Sarjapur Road which houses Wipro’s headquarters, Shaw was vocal about the woes of Hosur Road where Biocon is located.
“Sarjapur Road looks nice, but only till the Wipro office. Hope the whole stretch will be better by next quarter,” said Premji in his opening remarks at a media briefing to announce his firm’s results.
He said travel time of employees commuting to work has been heavily impacting productivity. “The government should provide land at a subsidised rate for institutions to set up at least half a dozen primary and high schools so that children of this area can save on travel,” Premji said.
Seizing the opportunity, one of the media representatives wondered why then Premji announces quarterly results at his company premises far away from the city —the scribes have to brave traffic jams to reach the place. Pat came the response: “Well, unless you travel on Sarjapur Road, how would you know the pain of travelling? Also, without that experience, you probably can’t write about it!” Biocon chief Shaw said it was important to look at the short-term goals. “It’s all very well to talk about Metro Rail, international airport etc, but it’s more important to tackle issues of immediate importance. We have to set right our arterial roads, for instance. It’s important to finish these things in a time-bound manner,” the Biocon chief said.
But Premji finished it all on a positive note: “Despite all traffic congestions and travelling travails, Bangalore is still beautiful.”
What they said

Travel time of employees commuting to work is impacting productivity. — Wipro chairman Azim Premji


It’s all very well to talk about Metro Rail. It’s important to tackle issues of immediate importance. — Biocon chairperson Kiran-Mazumdar Shaw