Tatas invited to Dharwad
Bangalore, DHNS:
The State Cabinet on Wednesday decided to invite Tata Group to set up its Nano car plant at Dharwad .
Rural Development & PR Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the government decided to invite the Tatas to consider shifting the project to Dharwad and expressed its willingness to provide additional land. “We are ready to give 50 to 100 acre additional land if they are willing to shift the Nano unit to the state,” Karandalje said.
Karnataka offers Tata 50 acres to shift Nano project from Singur
Bangalore, August 27, 2008
Karnataka has invited Tata group chairman Ratan Tata to relocate the Nano small car project to the state, the government said on Wednesday.
"The Karnataka government is ready to allot 50 acres of land adjacent to the 900 acres already given to the Tatas in Dharwad," cabinet spokesperson and rural development minister Shobha Karandlaje told reporters.
The Tata group's Dharwad facility in north Karnataka has been in operation for a decade.
Karnataka is the latest to offer land for the Nano project after Ratan Tata's statement that the group may shut the newly set up facility at Singur in West Bengal if the agitation over land acquisition continues there.
With this, Karnataka joins Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Haryna in trying to get the prestigious Rs15-billion ($375-million) project.
Efforts to woo IT firms showing results
Girish Pattanashetti - The Hindu
Of the 1.72 lakh sq ft of space in the IT Park in Hubli, 95,000 sq ft has been rented out
IT Park was inaugurated on September 19, 2002
Space available at a reduced price of Rs. 9 per sq ft
Promoting IT: A view of the Information Technology Park in Hubli.
HUBLI: Efforts made to attract IT and ITES companies to the Information Technology (IT) Park here, which was launched six years ago, are showing results.
Of the 1.72 lakh sq ft of space at the park, 95,000 sq ft has been rented out. Companies have occupied 75,000 sq ft.
The Manager of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), H. Devanand, who is in-charge of the park, told The Hindu that 26,000 sq ft of space had been rented by various IT and ITES companies from Hubli and Bangalore since past month. This was an encouraging sign, he said.
Augen Technology Software Solutions, Bangalore, had rented out 16,000 sq. ft, followed by Viz-tek BPO Solutions Private Limited (4,000 sq ft), Intense Software Solutions (India) Private Limited of Hubli (3,000 sq ft), Akshateck Solutions Private Limited of Bangalore (2,500 sq ft) and Squteck Private Limited of Hubli (400 sq ft), he said.
In touch
“We have been in touch with the companies which had evinced interest in the park during the IT Investors’ Meet held here two years ago. Our follow up efforts are finally getting results,” Mr. Devanand said.
The park was inaugurated on September 19, 2002, by the then Union Minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan. However, contrary to the hype surrounding its inauguration, the park remained a showpiece with major companies reluctant to open shop there.
In the first four years, only Tata Tele Services and RMS Technologies set up their units at the park and 1.6 lakh sq ft of space remained unutilised.
Though a state of the art campus of International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-B) was set up at the park at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore, it was not utilised.
In August 2004, M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda, the then Secretary to the Government, Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, held a meeting in Hubli with representatives of educational institutions, the chamber of commerce and some engineers owning software firms on the steps to be taken to breathe life into the park.
But that did not bring any change.
“Destination Hubli” held in Bangalore in 2004 did not attract IT companies to Hubli.
In 2006, the district administration organised “IT Investors’ Meet” in Hubli and the Government announced a reduction in the park rent to woo software companies to Hubli.
The meet succeeded in attracting IT and ITES companies to the twin cities, which wanted separate land for establishing their units.
Though the participants visited the park and seemed impressed by the facilities, they did not respond.
And now, persistent follow up work seems to have resulted in companies coming to the park.
Perhaps, one of the reasons for the IT companies coming here now is the recent listing of Hubli as one of the top 50 cities in the country with a potential of becoming IT destination, by NASSCOM.
Report
“There are chances that the report might have made some impact and naturally it is likely to influence other companies,” Mr. Devanand said.
Space is available at the park at a reduced price of Rs. 9 per sq ft for companies registered with STPI, which rent a minimum space of 2,500 sq ft.
For other IT companies, it ranges between Rs. 16 and 20 per sq ft depending on the space availability on the ground floor or on other floors.
Meanwhile, after remaining inactive for four-and-a-half years, the International Institute of Information Technology Hubli-Dharwad (IIIT-HD) has become functional with the launching of two finishing school programmes by IIIT-Bangalore.
The two programmes are being offered to students of north Karnataka.
Official apathy blamed for delay in work at Aryabhata Tech Park
Staff Correspondent - The Hindu
Building permission not being issued to IT companies: Shettar
For students: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar inaugurating ‘CET Catalyst Regular’, a satellite-based interactive training programme, at the Information Technology Park in Hubli on Sunday.
HUBLI: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar has taken strong exception to “official apathy” which he said has hindered work at the Aryabhata Tech Park in Hubli.
He was inaugurating the “CET Catalyst Regular”, a satellite-based coaching programme for students appearing for entrance tests for admission to professional courses, at the Information Technology Park here on Sunday.
Gumbi Software and Edusource Consultance Services (ECS) have, for the first time in the State, designed the interactive live training programme.
Although the State Government had allotted 26 acres of land to information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services companies at the Aryabhata Tech Park, between Hubli and Dharwad, the municipal corporation authorities were delaying the work there, Mr. Shettar said.
Some of the IT companies which had been allotted land at the park had performed “bhoomi puja”. However, they were unable start construction because they were not being issued building permission, he said.
Mr. Shettar said he had taken up the issue with the authorities concerned, and he would be forced to take it up with the Government if the official apathy continued.
The former president of the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Madan Desai, who heads the Land Allotment Committee for the tech park, said the committee had proposed to allot another 10 acres of land at the park to six IT companies.
H. Devanand, Manager of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd., said that in the last few months five companies had taken 26,000 sqft of space in the IT Park and termed it an encouraging development.
Managing Director of Gumbi Software Harsha Mahabala, Chief Administrative Officer of ECS K.K. Bhat, General Manager of BSNL Dharwad Telecom District S.S. Sindagi and Sadashiva Bhat were present. Under the programme, experts from Boscoss Publication will teach lessons from the Edusource Studio in Mangalore and students can interact with them with the help of special software designed by Gumbi Software.
HC Bench spurs realty boom
Vincent D’Souza | TNN
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Hubli: Belur, 10 km away from Dharwad off the Pune-Bangalore Highway, was a sleepy village a few years ago.
Today, it is one of the most happening places in the state in terms of property value, though it still comes under the purview of Neeralkatti gram panchayat. Thanks to the High Court Circuit Bench, situated near Walmi, that has boosted land prices and house rentals in the vicinity.
Land prices in Neeralkatti, Mammigatti, Tegur and other villages alongside the National Highway — falling under the radius of 8 to 10 km — have shot up considerably in recent months.
“An acre of land abutting NH-4 was priced at Rs 10 to 12 lakh two years ago and the same is valued anywhere between Rs 30 to 35 lakh now,” said Santosh Jadhav, a realtor. “If it is a few kilometres away from the National Highway, it costs about Rs 20 lakh,” he added.
The trend that set in two years ago when works on the HC Bench building got an impetus, made landholders, a majority of them farmers, calculate in terms of lakhs. Further, as the realty boom swept rural pockets and land became worth its weight in gold, more farmers away from Dharwad periphery began trading traditional land measurement terms like the gunta and acre for deals in square feet. Sensing megabucks that a deal in square foot can rake in, farmers across villages within a radius of 10-15 km from Hubli and Dharwad have started quoting prices in square foot.
Also, house rentals in Dharwad shot up by 80 to 100 percent within days after the announcement of HC Bench inauguration. A single bedroom house in a decent locality costs a minimum of Rs 2,500 while the rent of a double bedroom house is not less than Rs 4,000. Additional facility like car parking will add up another Rs 500.
H Shreeshail, a tech support working in the HC Bench feels that his decision of volunteering to Dharwad Bench from Bangalore did not turn out to be wise. “I was paying Rs 5,000 for a double bedroom house in Banaswadi in Bangalore and even here I have to shell out the same amount. I thought that I could cut down few thousands in house rent and hence had volunteered my transfer,” he says.
Mathikatti to work for N-K development
Special Correspondent - The Hindu
Bangalore: Chairman of the Legislative Council Veeranna Mathikatti has said that he will strive hard to create employment opportunities for the educated youth in north Karnataka by encouraging information technology and biotechnology majors to expand their activities in that region, so that the pressure on Bangalore would reduce to a great extent.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Mathikatti, who was recently elected to the post, said that he wanted to contribute to the development of north Karnataka, as he hailed from that area.
Coordination
Fortunately, he said that Speaker Jagadish Shettar also hailed from Hubli and hoped that both could help in coordinating development activities in the backward districts.
Asked to elaborate his plans, the Congress leader said that some of the eminent persons in the IT field such as Gururaj Deshpande, Nandan Nilekani and Sudha Murthy were from north Karnataka.
These industry leaders, he said, would certainly lend a helping hand, if he and Mr. Shettar requested them to start operations in north Karnataka towns such as Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad, Gulbarga, Bidar and Davangere, which had a large number of educational institutions.
HDMC all set to launch software for local bodies
Girish Pattanashetti - The Hindu
It is designed to conduct day-to-day activities, transactions
Management Information System cell has developed it
HDMC yet to decide its price
HUBLI: The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) is all set to become the first municipal corporation in the country that will sell integrated management system software for use by other urban local bodies.
In fact, the HDMC has given the new software, designed to conduct day-to-day activities and transactions of urban local bodies, to Mangalore, Mysore and Belgaum city corporations.
The software is an integration of various software developed by the Management Information System (MIS) cell. The MIS cell was set up to facilitate computerisation of the HDMC. The HDMC now has custom-made software for handling birth and death registrations and issuing certificates, and an accounting software for transfer and receipt of funds and tax collection.
The MIS cell has also developed various working modules for different departments and software that would ensure adherence to administrative procedures and guidelines.
The software developed for the corporation’s Public Works Department enables officers concerned to keep track of the all the pending, sanctioned and ongoing works.
“At the click of a button, an officer will get details about various works, a project’s progress and details of tenders and work orders, among others. And, if there is no budgetary provision for a project, the software will not allow you to go ahead with the tendering process,” Commissioner of HDMC Ajay Nagabhushan said.
He said that experts from various fields, including M.S. Subhas, Dean of Kousali Institute of Management Sciences of the Karnatak University, had assisted the corporation in coming out with an integrated software system that would suit the requirements of urban local bodies.
Mr. Nagabhushan said that the Public Works Department of Goa had evinced interest in the software.
“We are yet to decide on its price,” he said.
Mr. Nagabhushan said the MIS cell was finalising the price for the integrated software. After it was decided, the HDMC would start promoting it in other States.
He said that the software would be made available to urban local bodies in Karnataka free of cost.
Action plan for infrastructure development by month-end
Staff Correspondent - The Hindu
Government has allocated Rs. 50 crore for the purpose
Rs. 10 crore to Rs. 12 crore to be spent for development of link roads
HDMC plans to take up development of various gardens in the twin cities
HUBLI: The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation’s (HDMC) action plan for development of infrastructure in the twin cities is likely to be finalised by the month-end. This follows allocation of Rs. 50 crore in the State Budget for infrastructure development in Hubli and Dharwad.
The corporation Commissioner Ajay Nagabhushan has held several rounds of discussions with officials, people’s representatives, engineers, members of citizen committees, merchants and residents.
Mr. Nagabhushan told The Hindu on Monday that instead of spending the amount on one particular project, the corporation was planning to distribute it equally for various works that would be beneficial to the twin cities in the long run.
He said it had been planned to spend the amount for improving sewerage system, constructing pavements on major roads and developing roads connecting villages which were now under the HDMC jurisdiction, among others.
Mr. Nagabhushan said it had been planned to spend Rs. 10 crore to Rs. 12 crore for development of the link roads in the twin cities to ease traffic congestion on the arterial roads. The corporation was planning to take up development of the garden next to Unakal tank in Hubli, a garden at Navanagar, Azad Park and Kittur Channamma Park in Dharwad under the special assistance, he said. Projects such as dismantling of the old Town Hall in Hubli and constructing a new auditorium in its place, construction of Kannada Bhavan in Hubli and a community hall in Navanagar are likely to be included in the action plan.
Proposals to develop the mutton market and Mahatma Gandhi Market in Hubli, Super Market in Dharwad and bridges across storm water drains in the twin cities will also be included in it. The plan was likely to be tabled at the general body meeting of the corporation scheduled for the month-end, he added.
Govt plans park for IT majors
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The government is setting up a sprawling IT park on 2,000 acres around the City to create the much-needed space for IT firms to expand their activities.
IT companies jostling for space in Bangalore can hope for better days ahead. The government is setting up a sprawling IT park on 2,000 acres around the City to create the much-needed space for IT firms to expand their activities.
Disclosing this to reporters here on Wednesday, IT and BT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu said besides IT companies, BT, Nano, hardware and aerospace firms will be accommodated in the proposed IT park.
But the park will not be in one particular location. It will be spread around Bangalore, wherever land is available. The IT park would be developed under public-private partnership and nobody will be forced to part with their land for the purpose, he said.
The minister said IT and BT companies, including Infosys and Wipro, have been requesting the government to allot land for their expansion activities. “The government, therefore, has decided to develop an exclusive park for them,” he explained.
Knowledge Park
Besides, plans are on the cards to develop an IT Knowledge Park for SMEs (Small and Micro Enterprise) in Bangalore. It will come up in around 25 acres of land and an estimated Rs 10,000 crore investment is expected from SMEs in the proposed park, the minister said and added that the government was yet to finalise the location.
Already, 300 SMEs have approached the government with a demand to set up this park, which would be based on “plug and play” system. This will help SMEs conduct experiments and innovations at a cheaper cost. An expression of interest will be called from the private sector to set up the park and the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation will be appointed the nodal agency to implement the project. The entire project cost will be borne by the promoter, he said.
‘No IT migration’
Naidu further claimed that of late no IT firm based in Bangalore had moved out of the State. “In fact, Karnataka is a better place than others for investment and do business. For instance, those who tried to set up shop in Tamil Nadu have had a bitter experience.
No plan gets clearance easily there. They (companies) realised that there are traffic jams in other cities also,” he stated.
He said he held a meeting with representatives of IT firms recently and that they have assured him that they would not move out of the State. The government on its part has committed that it will do all that is necessary, he added.
Tier-II cities
The government has plans to develop IT parks in Tier-II cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Mysore and Mangalore.
In Belgaum, the IT park will be developed on 200 acres of land and a similar park in Hubli-Dharwad will come up on lands spread over 500 acres.
Funds to be sought for Malaprabha project
Staff Correspondent - The Hindu
Meeting on August 12 to discuss water woes of Hubli-Dharwad
A sum of Rs. 160 crore needed for improving drainage system in the twin cities
DHARWAD: A high-level meeting will be held in Bangalore on August 12 for finding a permanent solution to the drinking water problem in Hubli and Dharwad, Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani has said.
Addressing presspersons after chairing a district review meeting here on Wednesday, he said that the meeting would discuss issues regarding finding a permanent solution to the drinking water problem and funds mobilisation.
The State Government had released Rs. 50 crore for the Malaprabha Third Stage Drinking Water Project in the last financial year, and work was under way.
In the budget presented recently, the Government had earmarked Rs. 136 crore for it. But the amount was insufficient for finding a permanent solution to the problem, he said.
Mr. Nirani said that the meeting would discuss the issue, and added that he would urge the Chief Minister to release additional funds for the project.
To a query, he said that Rs. 160 crore was needed for improving the underground drainage system in the twin cities.
He said he would make efforts to get funds for it.
The Minister said that the Government was planning to acquire 500 acres of land for expanding the Belur Industrial Estate near Dharwad. The Government was contemplating on taking back land allotted to those who had failed to set up industries.
Survey for four-lane road project begins
Staff Correspondent - The Hindu
HUBLI: Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi has said that survey for the four-lane road between Hubli and Dharwad has begun.
Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Udasi said that it was the stretch between Hosur Circle in Hubli and Jubilee Circle in Dharwad that would be made four-lane.
The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited allotted the work to L.S. Kadiyali Associates, New Delhi, on July 7. The survey would cost Rs. 16.35 lakh.
The firm had been asked to submit report in four months, Mr. Udasi said.
The Minister said that the survey had begun on Tuesday and engineer A.T. Patil of Kadiyali Associates had conducted first round of discussions with officials of the Public Works Department.
According to the initial assessment, the four-lane road would be around 42 to 44 meters. Two flyovers would have to be constructed at Hosur Circle in Hubli and Court Circle in Dharwad, he said. Mr. Udasi said the State Government had plans to construct peripheral ring roads in five cities, including Hubli, in the State.
With reference to the consultant company, which was entrusted with the task of finalising alignment of the half-ring road, proposing an alignment that passed through two proposed railway stations, Mr. Udasi said he would look into the issue. The proposed half-ring road connects National Highways 218, 63 and 4 and was granted approval by the Union Government in 2005. Accordingly, work on conducting a survey and finalising an alignment were entrusted to SWIN Consultancy Company. But the alignment proposed by the company passed through the land acquired in 2004 and handed over to the Railways for construction of railway stations.
Pralhad Joshi, MP from Dharwad North, has urged the Government to recover the amount paid to the consultancy firm.
Arriving soon: New version of an IT park
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
GIVING IT A FILLIP ACROSS THE STATE
Bangalore: The IT City will soon have another IT park, but with a difference.
The 2,000-acre facility housing IT, BT, hardware, nano and aviation industries, will come up not on a single piece of contiguous land but will be more like a chain of industrial areas linked by good roads. It will be set up under the public private partnership (PPP) mode.
Katta Subramanya Naidu
IT-BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu told reporters here on Wednesday that such an effort will not only retain industries in Bangalore, but also invite more industries to the city. “We have received several requests for large tracts of land by many industries. This project will fulfil all their needs,’’ Naidu said.
According to him, the government plans to drop the process of compulsory land acquisition for this park and explore other options. A smaller IT and small and micro industries park will come up in Bangalore on a 25-acre area. Nearly 300 firms have already submitted requests for land in the park. It will be taken up under the PPP model by the staterun electronic industries corporation Keonics.
The state also plans to set up a 500-acre IT park in Hubli and a 200-acre IT park in Belgaum. The minister has already met representatives of the chambers of commerce and industries from Hubli and Belgaum.
“IT parks will also come up in other tier-II cities like Shimoga, Gulbarga, Mangalore and Mysore. The state is considering a request by Wipro technologies for a 100-acre land in Mysore for a faculty training university,’’ he said.
Shortage of parking space continues to plague Hubli
Girish Pattanashetti - The Hindu
Several commercial buildings in the city do not have the facility
Only 294 of 554 commercial complexes in Hubli and Dharwad have parking facility
Plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the preliminary stage
Callous: Vehicles parked haphazardly on the Dajibanpet Road in Hubli on Sunday.
HUBLI: Parking has been a problem in Hubli for several years and increase in the number of vehicles has only added to it.
“Park as you please” has been the mantra of most vehicle users in the city, as their chances of being penalized for parking vehicles in restricted areas are less.
Earlier, two-wheelers and sometimes even four-wheelers used to be parked on pavements, leaving no space for pedestrians to walk. However, after the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation raised the height of pavements, people have little scope for parking vehicles on them.
It is common to see vehicles parked haphazardly even on busy roads in the city.
Towing vehicles
Although the Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissionerate has towing vehicles, they are used mostly when VVIPs visit the city.
No space
One of the main contributing factors for the worsening of parking problem in the city is the lack of adequate parking space in most of the commercial buildings.
According to officials of the HDMC, there are 554 commercial complexes in the twin cities and only 294 of them have parking facility.
When Ajay Nagabhushan took charge as Commissioner of the HDMC he had said that action would be initiated against owners of the buildings that did not have adequate parking space. However, the HDMC is yet to take steps in this regard.
Several new buildings in the twin cities do not have adequate parking space. As a result, people who come to these buildings are forced to park their vehicles outside.
Sealing drive
In fact, the drive to seal commercial complexes built in violation of building bylaws, during the tenure of the former HDMC Commissioner P. Manivannan, had some effect. Owners of such complexes cleared basements to provide parking space. However, introduction of the Sakram scheme by the State Government in 2007 forced the HDMC officials to stop the sealing drive.
Meanwhile, the HDMC’s plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the twin cities is still in the preliminary stage.
Karnataka needs rail link not district airports
CJ:S Shivakumar, Merinews - August 4th 2008
Where is the need to construct airports at all the district HQ towns when a second railway track between Bangalore and Mysore is yet to materialise? What purpose will me-too airports serve? More useful things can be done with that money.
WITH DROUGHT looming ahead ominously, the Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has asked his deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat officers to pull their socks up. Rainfall in 100 of the 176 taluks of the state had fallen short by 22 percent. He said the state would face a serious situation if it did not rain in the next few weeks. The State should equip itself to tackle water scarcity and fodder scarcity. He asked his officers to ensure adequate supply of fodder and initiate employment generation activities in their districts to contain migration to urban centres. In case of extreme scarcity, the officers should arrange supply of water through tankers. At the same time, he also warned that districts like Bijapur, Bagalkot and Belgaum might face flash floods if the inflow in Bhima and Krishna rivers rose.
He admitted that fertiliser scarcity continued in the state. Hence, he wanted the officers to distribute the current inventory of fertilisers transparently. The Central government had supplied only 50 percent of the state’s requirement of fertilisers. He further declared that his government would construct airports at all the district headquarters. Towards this end, a sum of Rs 150 crores had already been set aside. The district DCs had been asked to recommend suitable sites for the purpose. Plans have been approved for constructing 12 airports and 10 air strips. New ones would be approved soon. The seven municipal corporations in the state would be allocated Rs 50 crores each by way of development funds. Ring roads would come up in Hubli-Dharwar, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Devanagere, Mysore and Mangalore. He wanted positive results and not excuses from his officers.
Implicit in the CM’s statement is the admission that some parts of the state would be affected by floods while the rest of the state would be affected by drought. But, this has been happening ever since the state came into being on November 1, 1956. So, for over 50 years, the state has been spending considerable sum of money to tackle drought and floods. Has any serious attempt been made by the state government to find a permanent solution to the problem? Is there a permanent solution? Yes, there is and it is a feasible solution, especially if viewed in the backdrop the vast sum of money the government has spent over the past 50-odd years. The government could have integrated the rivers at the state level so water from flooded rivers could be channelled into rivers which run dry. This would have saved the government crores of rupees it has so far spent to rescue people affected by floods; and it would have prevented loss of lives and property; it would also have saved the government the crores of rupees it has so far spent on providing succour to people affected by drought. In the circumstances, if the government argues that it could not take up the task of linking the rivers at the state-level, owing to paucity of resources, it cannot be accepted. River-linking could have been achieved by using only a part of the money the government has so far spent on providing relief to people affected by floods and drought. BSY may be aware of the fact that neighbouring Tamil Nadu has already made a beginning in this direction.
It is unwise too on the part of the Karnataka government to think in terms of constructing airports at all district HQ towns. Even the Bangalore international airport is not complete in all respects as of today, owing to resource crunch, amongst other things. If the state’s leading commercial centre, viz., Bangalore, boasts of an airport of international standard, it is more than enough. What is important is ensuring good train connectivity and road connectivity between Bangalore and other towns in the state to promote commerce and industry.
The sum of Rs 150 crores set aside for the purpose of constructing airports at all district HQ towns can be utilised to ensure this connectivity.
Alternatively, the said sum can be used to hasten the doubling of the Bangalore-Mysore railway track. It is a matter of shame that the two cities, both major tourist centres, do not boast of proper train connectivity even 50 years after the formation of the state. Doubling of the railway track should be completed as early as possible. By constructing airports at all district HQ towns the state government will have something to show against its name only for statistical purposes. Me-too airports will serve no purpose. Nothing will have been achieved in real terms. Let us hope BSY will put the scarce resources to better use.
