Belagavi: Land, infra issues besiege MSMEs in ‘hydraulic capital of India'

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Belagavi South assembly constituency, that houses hundreds of industrial units. Shridhar Uppin, Founder & CEO of engineering company Positron, was routinely supervising the operations at his factory, which produces heat exchangers. Despite the shop floor operations going on smoothly, Upin was concerned.

He slowly opened up enough to share his worries. “My next generation is not inclined towards managing the company’s operations. They are happy with their regular 9-5 salaried job. I am now thinking of passing on the baton to the most deserving candidate on the shop floor,” said Uppin, 51, a first-generation entrepreneur.
However, this was not the only concern. A bigger worry is the infrastructure-related issues plaguing Belagavi’s industrial area. “The city has grown exponentially in the past 10-15 years in terms of industries, but the kind of infrastructure that is required is still missing. Notably, Belagavi is among the top three cities in Karnataka in generating revenue and providing employment. We sometimes feel the city gets a step-motherly treatment from the state government,” said Uppin, the deepening creases on his forehead indicating the extent of his worries.

Belagavi is the fourth-largest city in Karnataka and the second-largest exporter in the State. The presence of several manufacturers in the hydraulic sector has given it the moniker of “the hydraulic capital of India." Due to a rich deposit of bauxite and over 200 foundries, it is a critical