Representatives put forth wish-list to MP(Union & Railway Budget)

Representatives put forth wish-list to MP

TNN, Jan 13, 2011, 10.19pm IST

HUBLI: People have urged the Centre to improve the railway service in north Karnataka and introduce more trains from Hubli to different part of the country.

The demand was put forth during an interaction programme organized by MP Pralhad Joshi to know the problems being faced by various sections of the society like traders, industrialists, etc. The programme was held at KCCI office premises here on Thursday, in view of the forthcoming budget session.

The demands included one more daily train from Hubli to Bangalore (during night time), and trains to Mumbai and Rajasthan.

Representatives from University of Agricultural Science (UAS, Dharwad) said the Centre should allocate more funds to the university to carry out research work besides providing funds, and facilities for irrigation and cold storage for farmers.

Some of the representatives said there should not be foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail. "This will protect the interests of small traders involved in retail business," they said. The central government was also urged not to encourage bifurcation of universities.

There were also complaints against the government for not introducing railway services to Gulbarga, Mangalore and other interior parts of Karnataka from SWR zone.

The representatives urged the Centre to immediately clear the decks for the long-pending Hubli-Ankola railway project. It was also urged to take steps to revive small industries in north Karnataka region.

After listening to the grievances, the MP said he will bring the suggestions to the notice of the central government so they can be mentioned in Union budget.

Joshi said he will put pressure on the Centre to provide Rs 100-crore special grants for the development of UAS and to set up IIT at Dharwad.

Crores washed away in flash floods:Bad roads are back

Crores washed away in flash floods

GURURAJ JAMKHANDI, TNN, Jan 11, 2011, 10.16pm IST

DHARWAD: Seven roads connect Dharwad to the outer world, and their condition is much to be desired. The road from Belgaum that passes through Dharwad was a national highway ( NH4) till recently. But now, it has lost its NH status after being declared "state highway" following the construction of bypass.

The authorities are busy filling the potholes on all the roads that were asphalted just a few months ago. The 38-km stretch between Dharwad and Savadatti had been relaid just a few months ago at a cost of Rs 14 crore. But the road is back to pathetic condition. It is shocking that even after spending crores, the condition of the road is worse. The PWD had taken up the work and the officials cite flash floods as the reason for roads going bad.

The road between Dharwad and Hebsur is riddled with potholes. It had been relaid at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. However, Kalghatagi-Dharwad and Halyal-Dharwad roads are in relatively better condition.

The work on converting Dharwad-Belgaum Road into six lanes is in progress. However, the same is not true with the Dharwad-Ramnagar Road that connects Karnataka and Goa. Public works minister C M Udasi had performed the bhoomi pooja with much fanfare on November 7 in the presence of RDPR minister Jagadish Shettar and others. But the work did not start as the forest department has not cleared the project that envisages doubling of the road at a cost of Rs 237.60 crore.

Hyderabad-based GVR-RMN-Pratyusha Companies consortium named GVRMP Dharwad-Ramnagar Tollway Private Ltd has been assigned the work on the 61.50-km stretch on build-operate-transfer (BoT)/ viability gap funding (VGF) basis.

The proposal to convert Hubli-Dharwad Road into a four-lane stretch may also hit a hurdle. There is water pipeline on one side of the road and the widening has to be taken up by acquiring land on the other side. Those owning the land along that side may resist land acquisition.

City roads in Hubli, a nightmare for vehicle users

City roads, a nightmare for vehicle users

Basavaraj F Kattimani, TNN, Jan 10, 2011, 10.02pm IST

HUBLI: Hubli is the second largest city in the state, after Bangalore, but most of its roads have been in bad condition for long, indicating the poor quality of works executed by the authorities.

It is a nightmarish experience for anyone travelling on the city roads, as they are riddled with innumerable potholes. The long stretch of road from KC Circle to Unkal Cross, Hosur to Unkal Cross, Neelingan Road, Vikasnagar to Bharat Mill and all the connecting roads from P C Jabin college in Vidyanagar, Cotton Market roads, roads in Gokul industrial areas, Hosur to Gokul road, Shirur park to Akshay colony road, Dakkappa circle to Aralkatti Oni road are in a pathetic condition.

Besides this, roads in the new bus-terminus, Keshvapur to Vinay colony, roads in Madhura estate, Gokul to Manjunathnagar, roads in Lingarajnagar, roads in Navangar Tadapatri Oni to CBT roads, Kusugal road and other interior roads in city, speak volumes about the apathy of the administration.

These roads always see heavy traffic, with most of roads in the Gokul industrial areas and Navanagar not been tarred so far. The condition of these roads are worse during the rainy season, as the rainwater clogs the roads, making it impossible for vehicles to ply on these roads safely.

Speaking to `The Times of India,' Lochanesh Hugar of Navangar said: "Most of the roads here need to be tarred and we have to be very careful while using these roads, as there are chances of vehicles skidding off due to huge craters on the roads.

Vinayak Miskin, an industrialist said for many years, none of the roads in Gokul industrial area have been tarred, while condition is very bad during the monsoon.

Locals also said low quality of works executed by the corporation authority, unscrupulous cutting of roads by residents and cable agencies, laying of low capacity road and unscientific construction of roads are main reasons for the terrible condition of the roads in the city.

IT Companies forming regional bodies in smaller cities

IT companies forming regional bodies in smaller cities

Business Standard

PRADEESH CHANDRAN & BIBHU RANJAN MISHRA / Bangalore January 10, 2011, 0:43 IST

Not waiting for Nasscom presence, have begun work on spurring investment, common issues and govt lobbying.

Information technology (IT) companies in smaller cities are forming regional associations to attract investments and get their demands fulfilled at the local level, as industry body Nasscom is unable to spread its wings in many such cities.

Smaller companies in places such as Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Madurai, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have created regional fora to sell their locations and also lobby state governments.

Rooted in small cities, these associations believe the presence of major companies in these regions will boost growth of small and medium enterprises. When it comes to larger and national issues like the STPI scheme extension, they prefer to work with Nasscom.

Said Binu Sankar, CEO of Group of Technology Companies, an industry association in Kerala based out of Technopark in Thiruvanathapuram: “Since Nasscom is not very active here, we work at the local level in promoting the state as an ideal destination and secure funding for 200-odd member companies. For all national issues, we work very closely with Nasscom and support its initiatives.”

Adds R Sivarajah, president, Software Industries Development Association of South Tamil Nadu (Sida), “Our aim is to develop an IT ecosystem in the region. We hope that when the big companies start operations, smaller companies will get businesses from the giants and will help in creating an ecosystem.”

Sida was formed in October 2010, with about 50 small and medium-sized IT companies as members. The association is also trying to make Madurai a regional IT hub, by supporting the smaller companies in the region. It has asked the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd to provide projects related to south Tamil Nadu to firms located in the region.

Small and mid-sized IT firms located in Bhubaneswar, a growing city for IT and business process outsourcing, have formed an industry body called Confederation of Information Technology Enterprises. According to B K Sahoo, its president, “We are mainly focusing on creating an investment ecosystem in the state and our major focus is small and medium businesses.”

Nasscom acknowledges the trend. “We are seeing more regional fora and associations coming up in these areas and the main reason for it is that we don’t have our reach in many smaller towns. We understand the need for a presence in these developing cities and have started partnering with these small associations by conducting various events,” said Avinash Raghava, regional director, northern region, Nasscom.

IT Attraction

With major IT companies scouting for low-cost destinations in tier-II and tier-III cities to expand their operations, to minimise their cost structure, smaller towns are becoming increasingly attractive. A study by Nasscom and A T Kearney, ‘Location roadmap for IT- BPO growth’ have identified 50 major locations, including Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore, Hubli-Dharwad, Bhopal and Goa, among others, as growth drivers for the industry.

The smaller companies in these cities feel the lack of infrastructure and guidance for start-ups are the major challenges for growth. The organisations are partnering various government administrations to overcome these challenges.

Calicut Forum for IT (Cafit), set up by IT professionals in Kozhikode to promote IT and IT-enabled services, is working with the government of Kerala. It has over 20 members. Serfraz Abdul Gafoor, secretary of Cafit, said, “People from Kozhikode make up a major chunk of the expatriate population in the UAE. We are seeking investments from NRIs to support companies in the city.”

Though Nasscom is taking steps to take IT to rural areas through partnerships and by adding new members, the companies in these places feel it’s very difficult to get Nasscom membership. For that, a company has to share its balance sheet and pay an annual membership fee of around Rs 15,000. Only companies with revenues of over Rs 50 lakh can apply for membership.

“We are planning initiatives through which smaller companies can gain value, or we may even restructure our membership criteria in the future,” said Raghava of Nasscom.