By V.S. Karnick, IANS
Bangalore : People in Karnataka and India’s IT hub Bangalore are only too happy to see the back of 2007. They have good reasons.
Silly controversies, suspected link to international terror, bizarre rituals and politics of opportunism made people eagerly look for better times.
Bangalore was rattled half way through the year when three of its highly educated young men, two medical doctors and a PhD student in fluid engineering, were linked to a failed terror plot in Britain, raising fears that the Brand Bangalore sheen will wear off.
A bizarre ritual of child dropping from atop a temple in fulfilment of a vow in a village in the northern district of Bijapur did nothing to enhance the image of Karnataka as a modern Indian state. The government has vowed to ban this.
Political parties formed, and broke, alliances and governments giving governance not even a decent burial.
Controversies like how to tackle increasing number of street dogs, mounting garbage and whether women should be barred from night shifts dominated the official agenda and public discourse in Bangalore for a good part of the year.
A strengthening rupee threatened to eat into the profit margins of the still booming IT and BPO (Business Processing Outsource) sectors, with companies talking of only moderate pay hikes in times ahead and slashing perks like day-time office transport facility for staff.
Commuting within the city remained the top daily concern of Bangaloreans, with around 1,000 new vehicles hitting the streets daily.
Brand Bangalore, however, survived the terror trauma as the authorities in Britain and Australia failed to establish clearly that the three men from the city were indeed involved in the failed terror plot.
One of the doctors, Mohammed Haneef, accused and detained by Australian authorities for 25 days in Brisbane, has had his right to Australian work visa restored from the Australian Federal court.
One of his cousins, Sabeel Ahmed, is facing trial in Britain. Sabeel’s elder brother Kafeel Ahmed, the mechanical engineer, is suspected to be the man who drove a gasoline-filled jeep into Glasgow airport on June 30. He suffered 90 percent burns and died in a hospital.
Street dogs remain a menace in Bangalore, attacking children at will. Despite promises by the city authorities, the problem continues.
The row over garbage clearance and night shift for women were overtaken by the high voltage political drama when the Janata Dal-Secular did not transfer power to its coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Subsequent re-alliance between the squabbling partners lasted only one week, forcing BJP’s first chief minister in the south, B.S. Yeddyurappa. to quit. The state has been under President’s Rule with its 224-member assembly dissolved, paving the way for polls in April/May, a year ahead of schedule.
Fortunately for the IT hub, none of these negatives took away its attraction as an ideal location for national and international gatherings.
Bangalore also played host to famous Western rock/music groups Aerosmith, Iron Maiden and Scorpions. The concerts drew tens of thousands of foot tapping, dancing and wildly cheering youngsters and several hundreds in the 40s and 50s.
Bangaloreans and those arriving in the city from across the state to usher in 2008 will sorely miss the beauty of IT hub’s famous M.G. Road, a favourite place to gather to bid farewell to outgoing year.
The boulevard on one side of the always well-kept road has been dug up for the Metro Rail. Barricades put up to ensure the Metro Rail work proceeds smoothly have shrunk the road width by half.
There is no other road in the city to take the place of M.G. Road. Naturally, New Year eve revelry in the IT capital will be that much less enjoyable.