BENGALURU: In a major embarrassment to the ruling government, particularly Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Wipro founder and chairman Azim Premji has declined the CM’s request to allow public passage through the company’s sprawling campus, which hosts over 500 tech firms and 43 tech parks.
Siddaramaiah had personally written to Premji, urging him to consider permitting limited vehicular movement within the Wipro premises, subject to mutually agreed terms and necessary security measures.
“One of the key challenges currently facing Bengaluru, particularly along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) corridor at Iblur junction is severe traffic congestion during peak hours, which adversely impacts mobility, productivity, and the quality of urban life. In this context, I wish to explore the possibility of allowing limited vehicular movement through the Wipro campus, subject to mutually agreed terms and necessary security considerations. Preliminary assessments by traffic and urban mobility experts indicate that such a measure could reduce congestion on adjoining stretches of the ORR by nearly 30 per cent, particularly during peak office hours,” Siddaramaiah wrote in his letter.
Responding to the Chief Minister’s letter, Wipro’s chief stated that the tech major does not intend to allow public thoroughfare through its Sarjapur campus.
“With respect to the specific suggestion of allowing public vehicular movement through our Sarjapur campus, we apprehend significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges since it is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company not intended for public thoroughfare,” Premji wrote in his letter.
This development comes in the backdrop of a tech major named Blackhock recently announcing that the company was relocating as its employees faced commuting difficulties on Bengaluru roads especially with potholes and traffic congestion.
After a severe backlash from the members of general public and from the BJP in the Opposition in the State, the ruling Congress in Karnataka had instructed all its officials and engineers to find potholes and cover them up. Authorities at present have been working throughout the night putting up patches on stretches of roads where its pothole ridden. However, there are lots of stretches of Bengaluru roads and on the outskirts of the city that have been dangerously damaged by the monsoon rains and requires urgent attention from the authorities.
There was also a political slugfest between the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP in the opposition over the pothole issues, the latter blaming the ruling dispensation for all misgovernance resulting in infrastructure crumbling and traffic congestion. The Congress, however, maintained that the potholes were due to the misgovernance during the BJP regime that they have been left to deal with. The Congress also stated that their officials have identified the potholes and are working round-the-clock to rectify the roads, however it remains to be seen how much they can do as the rains keep continuously lashing causing damages to roads.
