Rain dampens the spirit of BangaloreIT.in

BANGALORE: Amidst the controversy surrounding the apparent anti-IT stand undertaken by Karnataka's coalition government partner Janata Dal (S)'s national president HD Deve Gowda and a record deluge that exposed Bangalore's inadequate infrastructure, BangaloreIT.in got off to a lukewarm start here today.

After a lot of confusion on whether former prime minister Gowda would be the chief guest at the inaugural of the eighth edition of this IT showcase event, he relented, and stressed the government's support for the IT industry.

“I would like to make it categorically clear that Karnataka has achieved name and fame in the whole world, thanks to Bangalore being a pioneer city in IT. People should not feel that the coalition government is not giving importance to basic infrastructure.”

At the same time, he said that the government would also give importance to the agriculture sector, which employs 65% of the workforce.

Raging against critics who claim he is anti-IT, Gowda made use of the platform to state his intentions and that of the coalition government. “We are not anti-IT or anti-industry. The IT Park was inaugurated during my tenure as chief minister and we also announced a ten-year tax holiday for the IT industry.”

He reiterated that the government would not allow the IT industry to suffer. “Bangalore has grown enough. The industry should now look at other cities in Karnataka like Hubli, Dharwar, Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga and Hassan.”

Without naming anyone, he warned that the “whispering campaign against the coalition government in the state would not succeed in destabilizing the alliance.”

In his address, N Dharam Singh, Karnataka's chief minister, said that 206 new IT companies set up operations in the last one year. He assured the sector of all help to improve infrastructure. “ We have taken up several steps such as setting up a committee to review progress of infrastructure projects; clearances for the Bangalore International Airport and the Bangalore Metro project.”

He also added that various civic agencies had invested Rs 500 crore to improve roads in Bangalore.