On the sidelines of the trade show, Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya spoke to Babu Rangaswamy, president, Electronics City Industries’ Association (ELCIA) on the development of Electronics City area.
How has ELCIA evolved over the years?
We have, indeed, evolved a lot. Twenty years back, our main focus was to improve the infrastructure. Though Electronics City is part of Bangalore now, it was considered a distant village till 1995. There were no proper roads. The industry captains came together and took the initiative to build wide roads. At that time, the government was not too keen (on building roads); so we decided to take the matter into our hands. They gave us a fund of `8 crore and we contributed an additional `2 crore.
The roads are narrow here; any plans for expansion?
If we opt for expansion, we have to break company corridors. Efforts are made to address traffic-related issues, improve public transportation etc. BMTC buses have started plying in the area. It is true we did not envisage Electronics City to grow the way it has, but expansion is not the solution.
What is your focus area now?
We have moved from basic infrastructure to issues like water, power and e-waste. For water-related problems, we are in talks with the BWSSB and plan to set up our own borewells here. Being away from the city has its own issues. For instance, security used to be a problem, but now we have a
police station here.
What are your plans for the area?
Electronics City does not have a sewer drainage facility. Though some companies have it in their individual capacity, ELCIA wants to build one for every building. We are looking for an autonomous status.Hopefully, things will work out soon.
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