MANGALORE, 2 July 2006 — Last year some Indian expatriates from Saudi Arabia had teamed up with other Indians from the rest of the Gulf to develop an infrastructure for the expansion of the airport in the southern port city of Mangalore in the state of Karnataka. A few months down the line their efforts made the local government take notice of the potential of Gulf’s non-resident Indians (NRIs).
Thus Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy recently visited two Gulf States, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, to highlight the mega-industrial projects set to come up in India’s IT capital Bangalore, the tourist city of Mysore and the coastal industrial belt of Mangalore.
The chief minister held discussions with Indians in these two Gulf states about infrastructure projects in the state, particularly on those related to development of five satellite townships surrounding Bangalore. He drew the attention of the Gulf investors on his plans to develop tier two cities in the state and boost tourism-related infrastructure.
Encouraged by the huge interest shown by Gulf Indians, Kumaraswamy has assured them that his new government would launch more projects through public-private partnerships. The areas of cooperation include traffic management, building of flyovers, roads and bus stands, development of parking areas, solid waste management, health and education.
As a goodwill gesture, the chief minister has promised that his government would make a special provision to provide few seats for residents of Karnataka living in the Gulf in government and government-aided medical, dental and engineering colleges in the state from the next academic year.
He has also promised to look into their other demands such as direct flights from Mangalore to the Gulf states and acquisition of a separate land to place Mangalore on the international air route. The federal government has already earmarked Mangalore’s Bajpe Airport for major expansion at a cost of SR70 million.
The Gulf Indians are also sore that Bangalore is better connected with the Western and Eastern countries than the Gulf states and want more flights from the city known as India’s Silicon Valley.