Thursday, August 25 2005 17:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Information Technology (IT) firms who have announced a boycott of the annual IT exposition in the city blaming inaction by State Government to solve infrastructure problems, received a boost today (Aug 25, 2005) with NASSCOM(National Association of Software and Service Companies), the country's apex body, contending that they are rightfully concerned.

President of NASSCOM Kiran Karnik told reporters in response to questions on the issue that these companies are rightly concerned.

"Some of them are very vocal and it's good", said Karnik. Some of the IT firms recently announced that they would log out of the Bangalore IT in 2005 (till last year Bangalore IT.com) slated to be held in Bangalore from October 26 to 29 to protest Government `apathy' towards infrastructure woes, particularly on the traffic front.

They said promise was held out last year that Government would do something to address the concerns, but it turned out to be a hollow one.

Karnik said today, "We would like to see a great deal more of emphasis on quick and immediate action to improve infrastructure. Bangalore has become a pain-point and it's affecting industries, not just IT alone".

Traffic snarls and congestion have become a perennial problem in Bangalore, where road development and construction of flyovers have not kept pace with mutli-fold increase in the number of vehicles.

Roads connecting IT companies in and around Bangalore, in particular, witness bottlenecks that is testing the patience of IT companies, an IT official said.

Pointing out that Bangalore is an important destination for IT companies, Karnik said Bangalore `being not in good shape creates negative publicity'.

"We have to make the Government aware that it's a serious problem", he said.

Karnik, however, hastened to add that NASSCOM's stand is that both the industry and the Government should solve the problem together.

"We are not in the opposition side of the fence. Government has been helpful. Government policies have helped the industry grow. We would like to partner with the Government to solve the problems. We like to see action much more vigorous", the NASSCOM President added.