For Union Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran, bringing Microsoft chief Bill Gates to Chennai on his first trip ever, was meant to be a coup d’etat. But bad roads following the recent heavy spells dampened the high excitement of what was touted to be a significant event to showcase Chennai as the next IT destination to the mogul of software himself.Looking visibly upset and disappointed, Maran told reporters in the evening that he could not take Gates, who arrived in the city this morning, to TIDEL Park, Chennai’s software park, ‘‘due to the bad roads here’’. This was after Gates’ 20-minute meeting with Maran’s granduncle and DMK President M Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence here. Maran was waiting at the house as Gates arrived accompanied by Microsoft India’s CEO, Ravi Venkatesan. Later, a furious Maran said that Tamil Nadu had a ‘‘long way to go’’ in the IT arena. First, it had to take care of its infrastructure, he said sarcastically. While Gates did not interact with the media, Karunanidhi later said he had urged the Microsoft chief to invest more in computers and software related industries in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The DMK chief presented the Microsoft chief with a copy of the English translations of his commentary on the Tamil classic Thirukkural and a collection of his Tamil stories.Earlier, Bill Gates visited a hospital in suburban Tambaram treating HIV positive patients. Tomorrow, he will meet Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. While Maran’s Gates show today lost much of its sheen, the AIADMK supremo was busy scoring some brownie points herself. She presided over the signing of a MOU with German automobile giant BMW for setting up of a Rs 180 crore assembly plant in the Mahindra World City complex in Maraimalainagar, about 40 km from here.
