Agreed, it''s the technological hub of India (or at least it was until a few years ago) and has salubrious climes, but there''s something amiss with the ethos of Bangalore that vexes the mind.
Microsoft, Biocon and Google chose Hyderabad over Bangalore to open their research centers -- a move that shows the government will have to wake up and fast to buck this negative trend.
The city is a living example of crumbling infrastructure with epileptic bursts of development often overshadowed by the generally dominant apathy from the government and people alike. A city is often the reflection of its people. With Bangalore, one sees the inertia in the development of the city as a natural extension of the laidback mindset of its denizens.It''s almost as if the tag of Pensioner''s Paradise seems too parasitic to shirk off easily. From the work on the international airport to the metro, from perennial under-construction and often undesired flyovers, everything seems to be just meandering along and the worst part is nobody seems to mind or care about it anyway. The story is not any different at the micro-level either -- from unscheduled power cuts to shoddy road works, there is no respite near at hand for the urban dweller.
And the aforesaid is now slowly but surely leading to an exodus of bigwigs from Karnataka seeking other centers such as Pune, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Biocon, Wipro and Infosys are but some of the firms that have taken the lead -- the rest shall follow suit it seems if the status quo persists. In fact, both Microsoft and Google chose Hyderabad over Bangalore to open their India development centers -- a move that shows the government will have to wake up and fast to buck this negative trend.
With traffic snarls, rising pollution levels and the proclivity of the Bangaloreans to honk as recompense for their road insecurity, the mind is buzzing with road rage when it should be hard at work and you are clock-watching even as you have just stepped in.
No talk of Bangalore is complete without a mention of the bad roads here. What may be taken for granted in other cities is a monkey that refuses to get off the back of this city. The apathy vis-a-vis the roadways appalls the concerned citizen; with a city as congested as Bangalore, the least that can be done is ensuring good roads to ease the traveler''s woes.
The worst hit roads are eerily the most important ones too; Bannerghatta Road, which houses some of the world''s IT powerhouses is the epitome of this lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, with frequent rants by the tech honchos going unheeded ad nauseam. And there are other roadways feeling the heat too -- the Airport Road and the Sarjapur Road being the most afflicted parties among others.
An increase in disposable incomes has led to increasing crime rates as well. There are cases rife of techies being mugged at gunpoint along lone stretches on their way home and other petty crimes that seem to be keeping the police on their toes 24-7. And it''s taking some doing because the Bangalore Police is not technologically well equipped to handle this upsurge in crime.
Comparison with Singapore has been an idee fixe with the people in Bangalore for some time now; this cavalier attitude to the vast chasm that exists between the two cities is laughable to say the least. And unless something radical is implemented with respect to the tiring infrastructure in the city, the future shall continue to look bleak for a city that was once tagged as the Silicon Valley of India.
Source: Aditya Gupta, Oh My News
