ET Bureau MUMBAI: Indian IT companies declared a day-off in Bengaluru as the tensions escalated over the Supreme Court’s decision ordering Karnataka to release water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services have declared holidays, their spokespersons told ET.
Cognizant has also declared a day-off and has invoked its business continuity plan, a company executive said. He declined to be identified.
“They have been stopping our buses and employees are feeling unsafe. We had to declare a holiday just for safety. These are calls being taken on a day-to-day basis,” an IT executive told ET. He declined to identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Cauvery river has been a cause of more than a century of trouble between the states. In 1991, the city witnessed riots that killed over 15 people over a similar court order.
The latest holiday comes after a city-wide bandh on Friday and comes at a terrible time for the industry. Bengaluru is the country’s major IT hub and work disruptions could affects billings and revenue at a time when the sector already faces weak growth.
The December floods in Chennai, which houses 15% of the industry’s IT workers, caused significant disruption to the sector and Bengaluru, often called the IT capital of the country, is a far larger base of IT talent.
Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services have declared holidays, their spokespersons told ET.
“Wipro Limited has declared a holiday for employees in Karnataka on Tuesday, September 13. In lieu of this holiday, Saturday, September 17 will be a working day for offices of Wipro Limited in the state. Business Continuity Plans have been invoked to avoid disruption to mission critical projects,” a Wipro spokesperson said in a email.
Cognizant has also declared a day-off and has invoked its business continuity plan, a company executive said. He declined to be identified.
“They have been stopping our buses and employees are feeling unsafe. We had to declare a holiday just for safety. These are calls being taken on a day-to-day basis,” an IT executive told ET. He declined to identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Cauvery river has been a cause of more than a century of trouble between the states. In 1991, the city witnessed riots that killed over 15 people over a similar court order.
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The latest holiday comes after a city-wide bandh on Friday and comes at a terrible time for the industry. Bengaluru is the country’s major IT hub and work disruptions could affects billings and revenue at a time when the sector already faces weak growth.
The December floods in Chennai, which houses 15% of the industry’s IT workers, caused significant disruption to the sector and Bengaluru, often called the IT capital of the country, is a far larger base of IT talent.
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