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Journalism of Courage
Bangalore8217;s quest for an international airport has ended. The Dharam Singh government has finally cleared the project and work is expected to begin next month. So the new year will bring new hope for a city that deserves the best in terms of infrastructure given the enormous talent, energy and enterprise located there.
The Karnataka government has displayed a heartening ability for course correction and this newspaper both acknowledges and welcomes the changed stance most warmly. Whatever his initial reservations over the project 8212; and there were clearly several, both political and economic 8212; Chief Minister Dharam Singh saw reason and moved in the best interests, not just of Bangalore, but the state of Karnataka. The chief minister now appears to be a changed man. He recently indicated that his government plans to develop and maintain 940 km of roads in the city and there is to be another major infotech facility. As a wise man observed years ago, there are two qualities in the world: efficiency and inefficiency. And two sorts of people, the efficient and the inefficient. The days that have gone by have tested the Karnataka chief minister8217;s decision-making abilities, the days ahead will test his efficiency as ambitious projects take shape. These are competitive times. At one point, there was only Bangalore representing India8217;s infotech potential. Today, the scenario has changed dramatically, with every city worth the name throwing its hat, or hoping to throw its hat, into the IT ring. Hyderabad and Chennai are Bangalore8217;s most serious competitors, but there8217;s Pune and Mumbai moving into the block and even previously unknown urban conglomerations like Jaipur and Gurgaon now nursing major ambitions. Walking the razor8217;s edge of competition must have also contributed towards convincing the Karnataka government on this project.
