Kolhapur: Guardian minister Prakash Abitkar on Friday announced an ambitious state government initiative to establish Information Technology (IT) parks across all 36 districts of Maharashtra. Highlighting the recent improvements in airport connectivity, Abitkar emphasized a collaborative effort to encourage IT firms from the major hubs of Mumbai and Pune to expand into Kolhapur.
Kolhapur to Serve as Model District
"The vision is for Kolhapur to serve as a primary model and a guiding influence for the remaining 35 districts as they develop their own local technology sectors," he said. Abitkar made these remarks while speaking at an event organized by the IT Association of Kolhapur to highlight the roadmap of the IT industry in the region.
Dignitaries Present at the Event
State planning commission head MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar, KMC Mayor Rouparani Nikam, regional officer of MIDC Umesh Deshmukh, general administrator of district industries center Ajaykumar Patil, founder president of IT Association in Kolhapur Shantaram Surve, president of IT Association of Kolhapur Pratap Patil, secretary Rahul Mench, founder of Kolhapur First Surendra Jain, and other members from the IT industry were present on the occasion.
Address by Rajesh Kshirsagar
Addressing the attendees, Kshirsagar said, "All countries that developed in the IT sector are the ones which became developed as a whole. Solapur, Kolhapur and now Satara have received approval for the IT park. With lack of jobs in Kolhapur, young brains are shifting to Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other metro cities and even abroad, leaving their parents behind."
He added, "Now, once the IT park is set, new jobs will be created and even the engineers from metro cities will look to return to Kolhapur. Let's all resolve to do the best possible in a time-bound manner. High-level infrastructure will be built. We will try to give the name of Chhatrapati Tararani to the IT park, and local IT industries will be given priority while allotting space."
Presentation on IT Roadmap
At this time, President of Kolhapur IT Association Pratap Patil and Secretary Rahul Mench gave a detailed presentation about the roadmap of the IT industry in Kolhapur. They explained how the demand for an IT park took the last 15 years to get approval and how over 500 IT units have come up in Kolhapur in a self-sufficient manner.
