'Industry should invest in smaller cities of Karnataka'

Urging industry to look beyond Bangalore city and start investing in smaller cities of the state, state Minister for Energy D K Shivakumar on Friday said Bangalore has become saturated.

Addressing an open house session following the 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCIC), he said, “The people here (Bangalore) are already feeling and bearing the brunt of negative effects of unhindered industrialisation. I feel that industrialists, in general, and newer investors in particular should think of seeking their future in areas other than Bangalore, given that 100 km away from Bangalore city, there is plenty of land, water and other potential available in plenty for new industries,” Shivakumar said.

He said that Kanakapura, which he has been representing since 1985, holds huge potential to be developed as one of the metropolitan and inustrial hubs of Karnataka. “I request member companies of BCIC and potential investors to explore the possibilities of investing in areas which have been hitherto neglected. This will definitely put an end to regional imbalance and the menace of migration of manpower from rural areas in search of food and labour,” Shivakumar said.

The government has been looking to harness the potential of solar energy and introduced a new revised Karnataka Solar Policy 2014-21. Assessment of solar potential in the state estimates energy potential as 20 Gigawatt. “Still, Karnataka cuts a sorry figure when it comes to energy generation,” he said. “Neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have long surpassed us in power production.”