'Bengaluru IT companies won't go WFH because...': Social media reacts to techie's viral 'close IT parks' post

A Bengaluru techie, Amarnath Shivashankar, has appealed to the Siddaramaiah government to temporarily close major IT parks in the city and focus on repairing its crumbling infrastructure. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he suggested that employees could work remotely, as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the city undergoes essential fixes.

What did the viral post say?

When IT companies on the Outer Ring Road, ITPL, Electronic City, Manyata Tech Park, Bagmane Tech Park etc. went completely remote for more than a year during Covid, they can do that again if Government mandates them to do so. Employees are losing productive hours during their commute.
Invoke the BCP, close the IT parks for a few months, fix the roads and rain water drains, fix the broken Infrastructure. Complete the flyover constructions, Procure more BMTC Buses, fast track the Metro construction.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Fix Bengaluru once for all.

Consider doing this
@DKShivakumar

@CMofKarnataka

@GBA_office

@GBAChiefComm

How did people react?

"There will be real practical challenges in doing it now. We are not in global crisis and the parent companies (GCCs) want their employees to be in office not only in India but worldwide. Companies will have to shell out money in keeping their facilities maintained even though it is unused. Companies fear moonlighting if everyone works from home. The closure of IT parks would affect the local businesses like hotels, eateries and PGs. People will stop buying car/2 wheelers and automobile industry will suffer again. Rental market and realty market will suffer due to no takers," said one user.
Another user said, "Bengaluru’s traffic mess isn’t just about bad roads, it’s about a real estate cabal that can’t afford remote work. Hybrid models worked during the pandemic, but now vested interests call it “inefficient” just to justify their properties’ balance sheets. Office parks, rental empires, and complicit HRs have turned “return to office” into a "revenue protection plan". Until that collusion is broken, the city will stay broken and unmanaged."