Bangalore IT.in 2005 faces more boycott

The apathy of the Karnataka government towards Bangalore's infrastructure is taking a further toll on the state's showpiece IT event Bangalore IT.in scheduled for October.

After a group of around 20 companies under the Bangalore Forum for IT (BFIT) decided to pull out, it is now the turn of Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) to join the boycott chorus.

According to a statement from this state-focussed industry body, which has 450 firms as its members and 135 from the IT and ITeS segments, the stand has been taken in view of the government's apathy towards infrastructure woes, particularly traffic, power shortage and the airport facilities.

Said Anant Koppar, president, BCIC: "Companies are rightly concerned. Last year the government promised measures to address the issues. But the promise was hollow. Consider the last one year. Infrastructure has been deteriorating in and around Bangalore. Our intention is not to disrupt the event, which has consistently seen our support, participation and sponsorships in the last few years. The situation prevailing today is real and intense, and demands drastic measures, or we stand to lose big time."

He added that there will be a slowdown in investments flowing into Bangalore due to this lack of concern. BCIC, commenting on the slowdown, has said, statistics reveal that as few as 30 new companies set up operations in 2004-05 as compared to 52 in the previous year.

"This neglect is not just affecting the IT industry's pace, but also that of all other industries and the society too," he added.