BENGALURU: After facing wide criticism from industrialists on Bengaluru’s poor infrastructure, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held a meeting with Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and others.
Shivakumar, along with Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao and Bengaluru Business Corridor Chairman LK Atheeq, had a dinner meeting on Saturday in which Kiran, Pai and former JDS spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed and others took part.
The meeting comes after criticism from Kiran and Pai on issues bothering Bengaluru -- potholes, traffic and garbage, which didn’t go down well with Congress ministers who hit back, asking them not to forget their roots and use CSR funds for the city.
Sharing what had transpired at the dinner meet, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said she had a constructive meeting with the DCM on an action plan to fix the city’s key infra bottlenecks, issues on Outer Ring Road and Peripheral Ring Road, drainage, traffic and garbage.
On Sunday, replying to reporters about the dinner meet, Shivakumar said, “I told them that when you criticise Bengaluru, it becomes international news. We discussed many issues — Mohandas Pai, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and others offered excellent suggestions for the city’s development. I won’t disclose them, but they’re constructive. So I have included them in the main advisory committee. They are taxpayers and citizens of Bengaluru, their voices must be heard. The challenge is that in a democratic setup, working through the bureaucracy takes time — there are many legal frameworks to follow.”