New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday slammed the Karnataka government for its apathy towards India's Silicon Valley in Bengaluru that is leading to many investors shifting away from the state.

In response to a post on social media platform X by Karnataka's Minister for Commerce and Industries and Infrastructure M B Patil, Goyal also said the central government continues to support the state even in developing an industrial township in Tumakuru under the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

"In fact, Hon'ble Minister @MBPatil ji and his Congress Govt should try to make Tumakuru industrial township into a Silicon Valley rather than deriding India's progress," Goyal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Karnataka minister's post followed Goyal's suggestion about setting up township for startups.

On September 16, Goyal said, "We should be aspiring to go beyond. We should be aspiring to have our own silicon valley. I know Bengaluru is the Silicon Valley of India. But I think it's time we also start thinking in terms of maybe tying up with NICDC and creating a whole new township dedicated to entrepreneurs, startups, innovators, and disruptors".

In his post, the Union commerce and industry minister said the Tumakuru township has been left into a limbo by the state government, which does not even resolve their land issues.

"In fact, the delays and lack of support from the State Govt. has led to many investors shifting from Karnataka due to which thousands of jobs and crores of rupees in investments have moved from Karnataka to other States," he said.

He added that the Modi-government has a vision and commitment to build modern city infrastructure across Bharat, unlike the Congress, whose top leadership derides the country and its achievements even on foreign soil.

"Silicon Valley in Bengaluru is suffering from the apathy of the State Govt. to provide logistics support, quality infrastructure, good roads," Goyal said, adding, "Rome was not built in a day, and the world did not stop building after that! Great cities have come up since, whether it is Silicon Valley, New York, Bengaluru, or Mumbai and they have been the product of a vision for the greater good".

Creating Smart Cities and industrial townships will help achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.

"The resolve of 140 crore Indians! Our Govt. is working tirelessly to provide modern facilities, good social infrastructure and generate an ecosystem to promote industrialisation, invite investments and provide jobs for the youth of India," the minister said.

The Centre has recently approved 12 industrial townships in different states to boost domestic manufacturing and creation of jobs.

"Sorry Mr. Patil, but you have totally failed the people of Karnataka," he added.

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Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.

The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.

"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.

The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.

There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.

Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.

The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.