Govt committed to improving Bengaluru’s infra to make life easier for pvt industries: DK Shivakumar

Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said the newly-elected state government will be focusing on elevating the ease of living for the private industries based in the city to develop Bengaluru.

Reiterating his determination to make this happen, Sivakumar, who also holds the portfolio of Bengaluru development, emphasised: “By birth I am an agriculturist, by profession I am a businessman, by choice I am an educationist and by passion, I am a politician. But again, as a passion, I have taken on the job of developing Bengaluru." He was speaking during an interaction with Rahul Kanwal, news director India Today and Aaj Tak, and Executive Director Business Today, at the Business Today Tech Today Congress in the city Friday.

Referring to the words of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shivakumar said the world is today looking at Bengaluru. For a while, world leaders, who used to earlier visit the national capital New Delhi before traveling to any other city in India, have been coming first to Bengaluru instead.

“Karnataka itself has a very big strength. The human resources, the weather, culture, healthcare and, especially, the knowledge capital of Bengaluru. We have about 60 medical colleges in the state. Taking an average of 200 students in each college, imagine the number of doctors we produce!” he exclaimed.

He said the city’s problems were a result of its population expanding to 1.4 crore, with 10,000 new vehicles registered every day.

“[But] we have to protect Bengaluru. I admit that it’s not a planned city, unlike some parts of New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Today, due to the new economic policies and financial setup, anyone can decide to swipe a card and own a car within 24 hours. But the size of the roads is the same,” he observed.

He said that though improvements couldn’t be achieved overnight, he had already started deliberations with the legislators and members of parliament representing the city.

“At the same time, all the tycoons of Bengaluru who are sitting here, their voice should also be my voice,” he stated.

Acknowledging the industry captains’ importance to the city, Shivakumar said that while the state government could only create a few lakh jobs, the industries were generating crores of jobs.  

“We have to, therefore, see they are safe, happy, comfortable and that their time is not wasted. They almost spend two-to-three hours travelling. This is what I am looking at as I am personally experiencing it,” he said.

Sworn into office on May 21, Shivakumar is widely regarded as the architect of Congress' resounding victory over BJP in the assembly polls.

Also Read: Infosys' NR Narayana Murthy has a strong advice for troubled start-up founders: 'Accept your mistakes'