Coimbatore – Destination Next?

Circa 1998. Bombs ripped apart the city, and the unanimous opinion that everyone had about Coimbatore was that the city was doomed, forever. That was the time when I happened to be in my final days of schooling and I still can’t forget the terror we all went through. With endless rumors of unattended parcels and abandoned vehicles, days were dark. Even simple things like parking a car had to be done with utmost caution, we were told. Shops were closed, factories shut down, and economy was in deep trouble.

1998 wasn’t long ago.

It’s astonishing how things could change so fast. From being labeled as the ‘bomb city’, the only talk surrounding Coimbatore seems to be around the boom and whether the city is equipped enough to handle it. I wouldn’t have written this article if I hadn’t been spell-bounded by the unprecedented attention on the city. Even if there isn’t really much happening on the ground, I guess the buzz is a fair indication of the days to come.

IT’s destination Next?

Articles these days talk about Coimbatore being all set for a take off. Notables include L&T massive Engineering related investment, TCS, Wipro and CTS - Elnet’s existing IT operations and the coming-up of the Tidel-style IT park. The IT prospects of the city isn’t surprising considering the fact that PWC rated Coimbatore as among three other cities with considerable IT potential. What is surprising is how even IT companies from elsewhere are considering the city for entering India, very unlike how Indian IT giants consider it only after Tier-I city options are exhausted.

A 2003 Economic Times article on Coimbatore and its IT potential cited that the biggest problem with the city is the lack of air connectivity. But over the 3 years, the number of airline brands hopping into the city airport has increased from just 2 to over 7, with 4 low cost airliners connecting all important locations across the country. The total passengers using the airport were a record 62,000 plus in December 2005. More international connectivity is on the cards.

To sum it up, a Hindu MetroPlus article has a decent SWOT analysis on the city.

Part and parcel of the industry boom is the real estate boom: The availability of Rs. 1.5 crore apartments in Coimbatore, similar to metros.

The downsides

While it’s clear that the city might see some action soon, what is not clear is the downside such a boom will bring along. Absence of metro-style “hang outs”, pubs, party-houses, watering holes, gaming zones notwithstanding, will Coimbatore, in case of such a boom, really brace up to provide all the facilities to people coming along? Will the existing “culture” of the city blend with the mixture of culture an IT boom will typically bring in? Will other industries brace up to the challenge in the form of finding quality manpower? More importantly, will the city take the economic load and its side-efffects?