IT industries prosper despite terror network

IT industries prosper despite terror network

NewIndpress - Saturday March 22 2008 09:42 IST

HUBLI: With seven IT companies taking possession of land in twin cities to start operations, it appears that IT/BPO industry has dared to make City next destination of the IT industry after Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore nothwithstanding the terror fear prevailing in north Karnataka for the last couple of months, apart from infrastructure bottlenecks.

'Aryabhatta Tech Park' that came up here following the state government's order to Hubli-Dharwad Urban Development Authority to develop 26 acres of land belonging to Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation at Amargol on Hubli- Dharwad main road with an aim to develop a model tech park in the nonmetro city. It has succeeded in attracting seven companies.

As per the plan, the tech park will have 11 companies and seven organisations have already paid 40 per cent of the land price. The land is priced at Rs 10 lakh an acre and companies have been asked to remit betterment levy to the tune of Rs 78,450 an acre.

There were speculations that IT companies were reluctant to set up firms in City when the media exposed the planned sabotage activities by the suspected terrorists and activists of banned outfit SIMI in the region.

Following the speculations the real estate business has witnessed a significant fall in twin cities .

Hubli City, which had witnessed the adversities of communal riots on its routine business and economy during the Idgha Maidan issue in 1990s, has been slowly shedding its ‘sensitive city’ tag to become normal and ‘industry-friendly city’, but failed to become the ‘preferred’ IT destination after Bangalore-Mysore even after setting up a Software Technology Park of India (STPI) here which is lying almost vacant for the past one decade.

When the HDUDA approved the blueprint of Aryabhatta Tech Park with state-of-the-art facilities, the industrialists and people have rejoiced at the development, but in the mean time, it was speculated that no IT firms would come to Hubli following 'deep-rooted' terrorist links in the City.

Despite speculations, seven IT companies of the nine companies which were allotted land by HDMC - Able Design Engineering Services, Dharwad, PAC Soft, Bangalore, Trinity Tech and Software Solutions, Hubli, Mahaveer Infotech, Hubli, Penaber Infotech, Hubli, Sankalp Semi- Conductors, Silicon Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, Evision Bangalore, Oruley Tech Pvt Ltd, Bangalore have taken possession of land at Aryabhatta Tech Park.

Santosh Huralikoppi, CEO, NS Infotech Ltd and chairman of IT subcommittee, Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Hubli, said that issues like terrorism would not have

long-term impact on investors mood in small cities.