BENGALURU: During a meeting with US ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday urged the former to open a consulate in the city. He offered to provide all the initial requirements, such as land and building, for setting up the consulate.
Speaking to the US delegation that met with Kumaraswamy, he said that the consulate would be of benefit to a large number of Kannadigas working in USA. Apart from them working in prominent positions in the US, the number of tourists who are visiting the US is also increasing annually. Therefore, having a consulate to issue visas will benefit the population that regularly travel to USA from the state, he said.
Juster, responding to the request, said that he would place the proposal with higher authorities in USA, following which a decision will be taken.
Noting that there were around 370 US companies in Karnataka, he urged the state government to resolve some of the basic infrastructure problems faced by some companies in Bengaluru.
Chief Secretary Ratna Prabha brought to the notice of the delegation the development projects that are being carried out by the government to ease out the traffic and drinking water issues in the city. This includes extending the Metro Rail system by 200 km, elevated express highways and a billion dollar drinking water project in cooperation with a Japanese company.