Karnataka - Mangalore   

IT companies and their impact on society

MANGALORE: Information Technology and IT-enabled service companies are apparently undermining the social fabric of society, if the views of the majority of a cross section of society are any yardstick to go by.

“Owing to these companies, the local lifestyle has been affected. The cost of living has gone up,” S. Raghuram, who is pursuing his post-graduation in social work, said.

Citing an example, he said: After an IT company opened its unit at Mudipu near Mangalore University, the land prices there have shot up. The sellers are quoting a minimum of Rs. 50,000 a cent (one hundredth of an acre) of land. It may even scale up further. As a result, common people will not be able to purchase land there.”

He wanted to know how many local people had been offered employment by the IT companies in Mangalore. Mr. Raghuram prefers manufacturing companies to IT companies because, as he believed, they employed more local candidates.

After an IT company opened its unit at Kottara, the house rents in the vicinity had shot up, said Shivarama, a plumber at Kodical. “Now, you have to pay a minimum of Rs. 3,000 for a two-bed room house in the surroundings of Kottara, Urwa Stores and Ashoknagar. For a decent accommodation, you have to pay Rs. 4,000 and above. Earlier, such houses were rented at around Rs. 2,000. Can a common man afford such rentals?” he asked.

Mr. Shivarama said that land prices in that area had also increased enormously. “The minimum price is above Rs. one lakh a cent of land there,” he said.

Suresh Bhat, area business manager of a company, said: “They are promoting the ‘mall and week-end culture’. They have laid the foundation for unhealthy lifestyle. Values of society are under threat.”

Mr. Bhat said that IT companies had created an economic imbalance in society. “They are after money and their only objective is to earn money. Brides want to marry grooms working in IT companies. This is an unhealthy trend,” he said.

M. Narahari, a senior professor, said that after the “invasion” by IT companies, the house owners had started quoting fancy rentals which were beyond the reach of common people.

He fears that IT companies will give room for “erosion of ethical values, inflation and mall-culture.”

However, an employee of a popular real estate company in the city, who did not want his name to be mentioned, dismissed the general perception that there was a direct link between the IT companies and house rentals and land prices. “Investments from non-resident Indians (NRIs) in West Asia, proximity of the area to main roads determine the prices,” he said. Welcoming IT companies to the city, he said that it would create demand for residential flats and house-owners could earn a reasonable income by letting out their premises. “Those companies will create more job opportunities as well,” he said.

Chethana, an IT employee, said that it was unfortunate that IT employees had been projected in bad light. “Not all IT companies are good paymasters,” she said. Employees of IT companies had lifted the economic status of many families. “They have provided employment to many educated youth,” she said.

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