Bengaluru floods: BJP leader goes after Mohandas Pai, IT firms

BJP leader N R Ramesh on Wednesday wrote an open letter lambasting former Infosys director TV Mohandas Pai for ‘defaming’ Bengaluru and claimed that IT companies themselves had contributed to the city’s woes by encroaching upon stormwater drains.

Ramesh’s 5-page letter came a day after the government held a meeting with IT companies on improving the city’s infrastructure.

Ramesh, the Bengaluru South BJP president, accused Pai of 'forgetting the truth' while taking a dig at the IT veteran’s ‘Save Bengaluru’ campaign in the wake of the flood situation.

Pai shot back saying he has every right as a citizen to demand good governance.

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“You [Pai] have deliberately forgotten the truth that IT/BT companies and tech parks in Bengaluru, whom you represent, are among the prime reasons for today’s rain-related disaster,” Ramesh stated.

According to Ramesh, a former councillor, 79 tech parks under the Outer Ring Road Companies Association, over 250 IT/BT companies of the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA) and over 100 IT companies at the ITPL in Mahadevapura have encroached upon rajakaluves or their buffer zone.

“For example, globally-known companies such as Infosys, Wipro, Biocon, Tech Mahindra, Siemens, Tata Power, Robert Bosch, IBM, TCS, HCL, C-DOT and HP - all located in Electronics City - have either encroached upon rajakaluves entirely or have reduced the width of the primary and secondary drains to cause a diversion,” Ramesh claimed.

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On the outer ring road, Ramesh said Cessna, Ecospace, Salarpuria, Manyata and Bagmane tech parks occupy 90.85 lakh sq ft space of which 25% is on rajakaluves and lakes. At ITPL, Ramesh accused Accenture, MU Sigma, Aegis, Tesco and Dell of “completely encroaching” rajakaluves connecting the Giddanakere and Kundalahalli lakes.

Ramesh urged Pai to direct the “Save Bengaluru” campaign against the tech parks and IT companies.

Pai told DH that "well-known" politicians own the tech parks for which approvals were given from the BBMP or BDA. "IT companies are only tenants and they've brought huge jobs for Bengaluru," he said, urging local politicians like Ramesh to stop abusing companies.

"As citizens, we have every right to ask for laws to be followed. Bengaluru is one of India's richest cities. We pay the second highest quantum of income tax," Pai pointed out. "And, people like me have praised and criticised the government irrespective of the party in power," he said. "This is a case of failure of governance due to high corruption."