Nara Lokesh’s Andhra invitation for MNCs as Bengaluru turns into traffic hub

Padma Shri awardee and former Infosys Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mohandas Pai has slammed the Karnataka government’s “lack of action” on traffic and other infrastructure issues in Bengaluru. Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh was quick to jump on this, and extended an “invitation” to all multinational companies (MNC) in Bengaluru to shift to his state.
Nara Lokesh’s response came to a tweet by Pai, also known to be a vocal critic of civic issues in Karnataka, in which he claimed that several MNCs in Bengaluru were being forced to consider expanding their operations out of the state capital due to severe infrastructure issues.
He said the Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister were not fulfilling their promises, leading to a fall in trust among Bengaluru residents.
“Never seen this kind of anger and pain in the last 20 years. Very sad at the misgovernance of the city. False promises, lack of action. Sad day for all of us to have such a non-performing, callous, indifferent govt which treats its own citizens so badly,” Pai added.
Responding to the tweet, Nara Lokesh said on Thursday that he “would like to extend an invitation to all MNCs to Andhra Pradesh”, where Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has introduced new, business-friendly policies.
“We view industries as vital stakeholders in our state’s welfare and growth. We are ready to offer world-class infrastructure and an exceptional business ecosystem, ensuring both ease and speed of doing business,” he tweeted.
Record-breaking rain in Bengaluru due to the unprecedented has led to flooding in tech parks, forcing companies to adopt work-from-home policies.
The heavy downpour has also led to severe traffic jams and water entering offices and homes.
In an effort to tackle Bengaluru’s infrastructure issues, the Karnataka government on Wednesday announced the formation of a high-level committee to provide long-term solutions to the flooding and traffic issues plaguing the city’s tech hubs.
The committee will be chaired by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and vice-chaired by state Minister Priyank Kharge.
On Wednesday night, thousands of commuters were forced to abandon their vehicles on the Electronic City flyover in Bengaluru due to a massive traffic jam caused by heavy flooding.
After being stuck for more than three hours, the commuters chose to walk home. A video doing the rounds on social media captured the chaos, showing people getting off their vehicles and walking.