Business leaders give thumbs down to Siddu govt's handling of water row

Bengaluru, Sep 14: The Karnataka government received thumbs down from business leaders for its handling of the unrest over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute which has paralysed India's technology capital for the past three working days.

The overwhelming opinion was that the Siddaramaiah government had made a pig's ear of the issue, resulting in financial losses for enterprises and a loss of face for Bengaluru, according to a survey of 35 key executives from a cross-section of business. The responses to the survey were provided on condition that anonymity would be ensured. Some of the executives agreed to come on record with their views.

Just two of those polled by a news agency were satisfied with the government's response to the dispute with Tamil Nadu over the sharing of scarce water from the river Cauvery. Most said the government could have done better while quite a number of them thought the administration plain incompetent.

"On Monday, the government did not enforce the rule of law, and was fiddling when Bengaluru was burning," said TV Mohandas Pai, the chairman of Manipal Global Education and a former Infosys director.

"Today, they are enforcing (the law) and Bengaluru is calm," said Pai, who is also a prolific investor in startups.

Violent mobs shut down Bengaluru for much of Monday, after the Supreme Court in effect asked Karnataka to increase the amount of Cauvery water it had to release to the lower riparian state.Hooligans targetted businesses owned by Tamil-speaking individuals and burnt vehicles from the neighbouring state.

Offices emptied out in the afternoon and shops hurriedly downed shutters as public transport came to a halt. One person was killed in police firing. "I wish the government were better prepared and had beefed up security on the Bengaluru-Mysuru road as it was aware that the Supreme Court was about to give an order," said Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The same survey asked respondents whether they thought that the events of the past couple of days would have a lasting impact on Brand Bengaluru, regarded as a global startup and technology hub. The sentiments were evenly split, with most saying that it is possible to retrieve the situation if the government brings Bengaluru back to normalcy forthwith.

"All global cities face these kind of crises, and hence are prone to reputational risk. But if they (the government) can swiftly restore normalcy, the brand will bounce back," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon.

On Tuesday, although Bengaluru was at a standstill, there was no major incident of violence. Police and paramilitaries were out in force, gathering of groups was banned in all of Bengaluru and a curfew was imposed in the most troubled parts of the city. A bandh on Friday — enforced by motorcycle-borne mobs threatening violence and police accompanying them — ensured that another day of business was lost for a city already coping with the aftermath of three previous shutdowns in the past two months.

"It is really sad what is happening there. Yes, there is a dispute, but as the prime minster said, it is a judicial dispute," said Raman Roy, CMD of business process services provider Quattro Global. "What is happening there is not giving out a good signal to the global community. Things should have been managed better. I think as a society, as an industry, we have displayed immaturity," he said.