DK Shivakumar meets Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw amid Bengaluru infra row

Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar met Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw a week after she raised concerns over Bengaluru's poor infrastructure, sparking an online discussion on the issue

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met biopharma firm Biocon's Chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to discuss Bengaluru's growth, days after she flagged her concerns over the city's poor infrastructure.

 

"It was a pleasure to meet Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, entrepreneur and founder of Biocon, at my residence today. We had an engaging discussion on Bengaluru’s growth, innovation, and the path ahead for Karnataka’s growth story," Shivakumar posted on X.

 

The debate about India's tech hub Bengaluru's struggling infrastructure is not a new one. However, the recent episode was triggered last week after Shaw said that she had an overseas visitor who flagged concerns about the city's poor roads and littered streets.

 

"I had an overseas business visitor to Biocon Park who said, ‘Why are the roads so bad and why is there so much garbage around?  Doesn’t the Govt want to support investment? I have just come from China and can't understand why India can’t get its act together especially when the winds are favourable?" Shaw said, in a post on X, marking CM Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and Minister Priyank Kharge. 

 

Her post sparked an online discussion with many people sharing anecdotes about their struggles with Bengaluru's infrastructure.

 

It also elicited a response from Kharge, who said he was unsure “which part of Bengaluru” her overseas visitor had seen. Speaking to news agency ANI, Kharge said the city is growing rapidly and that all necessary steps are being taken to improve its infrastructure.

Bengaluru woes

Recently, Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru development minister, said he has moved "heaven and earth" to fix the city's garbage problems and alleged involvement of "big garbage mafia" that has stalled the city's progress, PTI reported.

 

Further addressing traffic concerns, he said that it is a global and national challenge and cited London and New Delhi as examples. He added, "Even in London, people have to travel three hours if they don't go by public transport. Even in Delhi, it will take 1.5 hours to reach Parliament from the airport, but Bengaluru is making more noise than Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad."

 

Last month, he also wrote to IT major Wipro, requesting the company to consider allowing limited vehicular movement through its campus to help ease traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road and at the Iblur junction in Bengaluru.

 

However, its chief, Azim Premji, said the company cannot allow public vehicular movement through its Sarjapur campus, as it is private property and a special economic zone (SEZ).