BENGALURU: In order for Bengaluru’s IT cluster to function effectively and efficiently, talented people have to get together easily and discuss freely anytime anywhere on the contentious issues. Despite the fact that food, rent, labour and transport costs are sometimes higher here than in Tokyo, global companies continue to invest in Bengaluru because it is the ‘Silicon Valley of Asia’. Bengaluru has a supreme environment where continuous innovation can occur, which Michael Porter [American academic] called ‘industrial cluster’. However, the recent heavy traffic congestion restrains free intellectual activities, which can tarnish the name of ‘Silicon Valley’.
Thirty years ago when I was an evacuee from Rangoon, Bangkok was experiencing the worst traffic congestion in Asia. It took me two hours to commute from my hotel to the United Nations office by car, while it would have taken only 30 minutes had I chosen to walk instead. Now, Bangkok has a well-developed metro system and highway network.
It seems like those old traffic congestion days are gone. On similar lines, Bengaluru can, of course, build highways and longer metro lines to reduce traffic congestion. The problem here, however, seems to be funds to execute these projects. The Karnataka government, as the capital of innovative thinking, is tackling this problem of mobilising funds on its own, by providing incentives to private sectors, in addition to pledges made by the foreign governments. The mobilisation of funds from the private sector cannot be scheduled while pledges made by foreign governments are scheduled. Hence, unless the Karnataka government can solve this incongruity, the prospect for the successful project implementation may not be as bright as the Bengaluru sunshine.
SOLUTION: On the lines of Bangkok, the government can build highways and longer metro lines to reduce traffic congestion. The Karnataka government needs to solve the incongruity of funding from private sector and foreign governments for successful project implementation.
(The writer is the Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru)