Benz

Mysore has emerged from the shadow of its cosmopolitan neighbour Bangalore, and is witnessing a flurry of activities in many fronts so as to evolve as a brand and alternative destination in Karnataka.

The city hitherto known for its rich history, heritage and regal past, was now promising to be the next hot industrial destination, not only N Karnataka, but across the country. Making the task of building 'brand Mysore' seems to be easier, as the information technology (it) majors have committed to invest crores of Rupees and create thousands of jobs here.

Even though Mysore, located just 140 km away, lagged behind Bangalore for about three decades in terms of industrialisation. The royal city could take on the state capital, as it scored better in offering good quality of life, population free atmosphere and lived up to its reputation of being a centre of education and knowledge. Mysore found a place among the top five tourist destinations in a survey conducted by the Union Tourism Ministry recently. The city had also been ranked among the top ten in a study conducted by a real estate consultancy Knight Frank, which puts the Mysore city on 9th among the 15 cities, considered as emerging growth centres in the country.

The study was conducted on the basis of real estate, people, physical infrastructure and social environment with a conclusion that India's hottest emerging city is Chandigarh.

Mysore was rated by all categories of respondents, as the least polluted and was ranked higher then other fast growing urban centres like Coimbatore, Indore, Kanpur, Surat, Lucknow, Visakhaptnam, Jaipur, Nagpur and Patna, a sub-registrar office in the city pointed out, explaining the reasons for the real estate boom in the city.

The heritage city has suddenly become the cynosure of all eyes, with a flurry of activities being witnessed in infrastructure, housing, education and investments in highways and airport projects.