Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh today (Oct 7, 2004) said that a meeting would be convened with IT leaders to address the infrastructure bottlenecks in Bangalore after the Bidar by-elections next week.

"After the Bidar by-elections, our Government will meet the IT industry and address concerns of infrastructure," Singh said in his address at the inaugural of the Reuters facility in Bangalore, which was attended by IT leaders including Infosys president Nandan Nilekani.

Recalling an earlier meeting with the IT industry a few months back, Singh said, "We have not forgotten our promise to address the infrastructure problems."

He said the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), a public private partnership venture to improve the infrastructure in the city, of which Nilekani is the chairman, would also revive its consultations from this month.

Singh, apparently responding to the statement of Reuters Global Head of Data Operations Justin Abel that Reuters plans of increasing its workforce depended on the infrastructure, said, "We are pro-poor and pro-farmer Government, but we will not ignore IT and BT sector."

He said the Centre has cleared a Rs 400 crore highway on stilts till electronics city and added that about 14 flyovers would be completed by the Bangalore Development Authority and Bangalore City Corporation in the next six months to decongest the city, besides building an IT corridor on 8,600 acres.

Singh lauded the IT sector for creating "brand Bangalore" for the city and enhancing the city's image as "knowledge capital".