Bangalore : it\'s state, living conditions, quality of life, traffic, entertainment...

[direstraits88]

Here is an article that might intereset those planning to move to Bangalore.

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20071217&fname=Cover+Story+%28F%29&sid=1&pn=1


Leaving aside the quality of outlook as a magazine, it's hard to argue against the article.

[layman]

Thanks for posting the article.

Extract from a related article
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20071217&fname=Cover+Story+%28F%29&sid=2

"Right in the beginning, the IT industry should have planned their campuses in towns like Ramanagaram (40-odd km from Bangalore). They should have created IT satellite towns, but they all wanted land inside the city. They not only took away that land, they also complain about not getting enough. They say they want better roads, but why should we create them?

IT people have a responsibility that they are yet to fulfil. If they're making so much money, why shouldn't they create an outstanding private university equivalent to Stanford or Harvard? "

[Tweedledee]

this extract from the links below the article shows the IT guys still dont "get it". what IT did to india was to make a small portion of the working population very rich. if IT cos. had translated this into tangible infrastructure improvements rather than blaming the govt., then there wouldnt be such a backlash. now if an IT guy's gadget-stuffed house gets robbed or his kid is kidnapped for ransom, the natural thinking has become "the guy deserved it" and this thinking does not seem outrageous anymore.

>>reportedly rebuffed IT folks representing for government intervention, asking, what has the IT industry done in the Northeast? As if it is the job of successive governments to mess up a region and then for the IT industry to go set up centres of excellence there by recruiting gun-toting ultras. <<

[HighTorque]

Though I personally agree that rich IT companies can do more in contributing to the community, I also disagree on making the IT guy the scapegoat for all bangalore woes.

Firstly, the root cause of the problem IMO is the lack of proper infrastructure planning in early stages. Everyone (this includes politicians, govt. officials, RE promoters and ofcourse we the people) were greedy to make money, the perennial 'Survival Mode' that we always live in. One guy promotes a layout and ten other guys break all rules and do the same. One guy builds a fancy mall and ten others build it in the vicinity, at the end all the eleven stand to lose :emteeth: . Some of us might have heard locals complain that we may have an intl airport by mar/apr 08 but dont have roads leading to it. Is this the fault of the IT people?.

Secondly, the RE factor on the flipside. They say the rising tide lifts all boats. Thanks to the IT boom, most places have seen enormous rate hike. Just as an example, my non-IT uncle in Indra Nagar lives in a 60x40 sq.ft plot with an independent house. The current market value in his area is Rs.10,000/sq.ft. He says he can even sell it for 12,000 if he wants. Considering he bought that same plot for peanuts couple of decades or so back, I think he has benefited heavily from the IT boom. There are tons of such people sitting on gold mines like that. Go to devanahalli or other such outer areas and you will find acres of land bought by VIPs hoarding on to it for long term jackpots. Same goes with RE promoters who lie and cheat for making a fast buck. Are IT people to be blamed entirely for unaffordable housing?

Thirdly, lawsuits. Even if one buys a plot there is no guarantee it is litigation free or will not have litigation in the future. The same 'son of the soil' gets greedy after he realizes that the RE guy bought his land for a discount and is selling it for premium. What does he do?. He has his family members file a lawsuit demanding the right to that property and ends up in an injunction. Is the IT guy to be blamed for this?.

Finally, bangalore needs IT guys. Who is gonna shop in the tons of malls that has come up all over the city, bolster local economy in ways that benefits everyone and not to mention all that tax that is being paid by these guys. Also saying that they devalue other professions or make the city dirty etc just does not cut it.

[direstraits88]

It's not the IT guy, it's IT which is largely responsible for the mess.. There was no stopping wipro/infosys or others from opening their offices in Chandigarh/jaipur/nashik/nagpur/vizag/Coimbatore. Politician will always be the scoundrel.....No point in hoping they would do anything...Murthy/Premji may be billionaires. But they still are stuck on the same dusty road like you and me.. Your uncle's property may be worth 4 crores. But what's stopping him from selling it? He knows that there's no option for him but to live in Indranagar. He know well that he can't live in Yelahanka..Whether you have 1000 crores like premji or 4 crores like your uncle or a average guy, living in the city has become "hell".

[HighTorque]

It's not the IT guy, it's IT which is largely responsible for the mess.. There was no stopping wipro/infosys or others from opening their offices in Chandigarh/jaipur/nashik/nagpur/vizag/Coimbatore. Politician will always be the scoundrel.....No point in hoping they would do anything...Murthy/Premji may be billionaires. But they still are stuck on the same dusty road like you and me.. Your uncle's property may be worth 4 crores. But what's stopping him from selling it? He knows that there's no option for him but to live in Indranagar. He know well that he can't live in Yelahanka..Whether you have 1000 crores like premji or 4 crores like your uncle or a average guy, living in the city has become "hell".

Btw, Infosys, wipro and the likes do have offices in other cities also.

The article blames IT and IT guys for all the problems in bangalore. Excerpt below:

Techies Are Blamed For

Land-grabbing, zooming property and rental rates, the rising cost of living

Creating traffic jams, pollution, encroachments

Turning 'garden city' into 'garbage city', pensioner's paradise to 'suicide capital'

Devaluing other professions

Destroying intellectual and artistic culture

Introducing a culture of conspicuous consumption in malls and bars

People need to understand that they cannot eat the cake and keep it. Welcome to capitalism, if you wanna good things, be ready for the bad things that go along with it. Singling out IT or IT folks is just passing on the buck, period.

[layman]

Btw, Infosys, wipro and the likes do have offices in other cities also.

The article blames IT and IT guys for all the problems in bangalore. Excerpt below:

Techies Are Blamed For

Land-grabbing, zooming property and rental rates, the rising cost of living

Creating traffic jams, pollution, encroachments

Turning 'garden city' into 'garbage city', pensioner's paradise to 'suicide capital'

Devaluing other professions

Destroying intellectual and artistic culture

Introducing a culture of conspicuous consumption in malls and bars

People need to understand that they cannot eat the cake and keep it. Welcome to capitalism, if you wanna good things, be ready for the bad things that go along with it. Singling out IT or IT folks is just passing on the buck, period.[/quote]
I do not agree. Indian IT companies have no long sight. In plain terms what are Indian IT companies doing? US and European companies invest in R&D, market research and come up with products that will improve the world. Consider this as x of the equation. Indian education system founded by our socialist forefathers (yes, our education system is not a product of capitalism) produces people with English speaking and analytical skills. This is y of the equation. Indian IT companies take x and y, put together to make money. (a) They are not coming out with any innovative products from scratch. (b) They are not developing any area in India from scratch. Infosys is not even developing Mysore even though it has all the ingredients of Bangalore. Our leaders in IT are short sighted. It percolates down to lower levels of IT people as well.

In my opinion, Bangalore has become a software dungeon for the world. MNCs worldover dump all junk work on IT companies of India. Indian IT companies pay the IT folks low, charge their customers high and post earnings. Since it is easy money they are not making any effort for any positive development, either for the society or even for themselves. Essentially, it is like the story of gulf countries where they found oil one day and became brain dead subsequently. All our new found sheikhs and their cronies and the people down further are prying for the same set of resources with their new found easy money and hence the commotion.

[HighTorque]

I do not agree. Indian IT companies have no long sight. In plain terms what are Indian IT companies doing? US and European companies invest in R&D, market research and come up with products that will improve the world. Consider this as x of the equation. Indian education system founded by our socialist forefathers (yes, our education system is not a product of capitalism) produces people with English speaking and analytical skills. This is y of the equation. Indian IT companies take x and y, put together to make money. (a) They are not coming out with any innovative products from scratch. (b) They are not developing any area in India from scratch. Infosys is not even developing Mysore even though it has all the ingredients of Bangalore. Our leaders in IT are short sighted. It percolates down to lower levels of IT people as well.

The point I am trying to make is the outlook article blaming IT, which is just a simplistic way of looking at things without considering all factors.

Agree with the essence of your posting though. I have also in the past posted similarly about Indian IT companies not moving up the value chain by not creating new products. However I stand corrected these days about MNCs not investing in R&D efforts. There is an article in business world magazine that says that India is the third most attractive foriegn destination for R&D collaboration for MNCs. A good 24.6% of research is headed to India while China at 33.3% and US at 29% share the first and second spots. If one goes by that, it bodes well for the future of R&D in India. However India lags behind in patenting.

[layman]

The point I am trying to make is the outlook article blaming IT, which is just a simplistic way of looking at things without considering all factors.

Agree with the essence of your posting though. I have also in the past posted similarly about Indian IT companies not moving up the value chain by not creating new products. However I stand corrected these days about MNCs not investing in R&D efforts. There is an article in business world magazine that says that India is the third most attractive foriegn destination for R&D collaboration for MNCs. A good 24.6% of research is headed to India while China at 33.3% and US at 29% share the first and second spots. If one goes by that, it bodes well for the future of R&D in India. However India lags behind in patenting.[/quote]
Agreed. Again, it is the non Indian MNCs predominantly pushing India up the value chain and not the home grown companies.

[HighTorque]

In my opinion, Bangalore has become a software dungeon for the world. MNCs worldover dump all junk work on IT companies of India. Indian IT companies pay the IT folks low, charge their customers high and post earnings.

As long as there are people ready to do junk work, the Indian IT companies are going to keep billing and make money,it is all about supply and demand. Having said that, there are tons of MNCs in India which do very interesting work also. So calling bangalore or any other IT city a software dungeon reflects a lack of understanding of ground realities.