The heady whiff of benne dose (butter dosa) wafts over Davanagere, the city at the heart of Karnataka. The delectable dish has a ‘brand association’ with the city, whose gifted chefs have transported the aroma to unlikely corners of the world.

But however much the benne dose may gratify the palate, Davanagere is looking to rebrand its identity, perhaps to one that will position it at the heart of the knowledge economy in the way that Bengaluru has.

And it hopes that the Smart City Project, for which it has been picked for development, will catapult it into that tech-based future.

The city’s history dates back to 1000 CE, but in more modern times, it established itself as a famous trade and manufacturing post. Given its vast cotton-growing area and its cotton textile mills, it was known as the ‘Manchester of Karnataka’. But those mills have since stopped spinning.

“What was once a humming textile hub led by Davanagere Cotton Mills (DCM), and others such as machinery maker Mysore Kirloskar, is now a shambles,” recalls MB Sudeendra Rao, a former Vice-President at Mysore Kirloskar at Harihar.

He traces the downslide in Davanagere’s fortunes to the process of deindustrialisation brought on by the hardline labour union movement of the 1960s and the 1970s.

Today, the city is surrounded by areas that grow groundnut, pulses and cotton; there are a number of groundnut oil factories and other agro-based value-addition units inside the city. The traditional ones have given way to modernised crushing factories.

The city has a healthy mix of small scale industries, and in fact the region accounts for 38 per cent of the number of SSI units in Karnataka. Apart from this, the city is also a major agro-sourcing hub for the State.

An educational hub But more significantly, the city is home to a number of professional educational institutions, all of which have made it a major educational hub for neighbouring districts.

“When all the cotton mills shut down one after another, some of the leading communities stepped in to set up educational institutions,” recalls TS Vishwajeet, who grew up in the city.As a consequence, the city's population is highly literate: according to the 2011 Census, Davanagere’s literacy rate is 84.9 per cent; even female literacy is high, at 80.7 per cent.

It is this rich human resource base that the city hopes to leverage and attract knowledge-economy companies. It is counting on its proximity to Bengaluru to promote itself as a base for IT companies looking to expand their operational geography beyond top-tier cities.

LIFE in the smart city The city is taking its smart city aspirations seriously. Davanagere Corporation Commissioner BH Narayanappa sums it up thus: “Our city’s vision statement says: ‘Davanagere aspires to be a city where LIFE nestles.’ LIFE stands for: Liveable (in terms of safety and convenience), Inclusive, Financially vibrant and futuristic, Edutainment, economic prosperity and environment-friendly.”

“For the area-based development proposal, we’ve identified nearly 785 acres in and around Mandakki Bhatti and Mandipet market area, which is congested, and has a high population density,” said Narayanappa.

The challenges However, Davanagere’s dream of a tech-based future is not without hurdles. Even given its high literacy, only about 10 per cent of the population has access to the internet.

The city is divided by a railway line, which distinguishes the well-off southern part from the relatively poorer northern section, which has a sizeable number of slums. For city administrators, it is this northern half that could pose a challenge when it comes to implementation of the smart city project.

“It is crucial to take them into confidence and assure them that their livelihood will not be affected by the smart city project,” explained Deputy Commissioner ST Anjan Kumar.

The ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ pitch The city is, therefore, betting heavily on the smart city project to propel it to success.

A sizeable number of software professionals from this part of the State, and specifically from Davanagere city, have made it big both in Bengaluru and abroad.

As they approach their mid-life, they are exploring avenues to return home and set up their own venture. Davanagere is looking to profit from this ‘homecoming entrepreneurial instinct’.

Anjan Kumar said: “We have drawn up a plan to build a software park. Currently, we are in talks with educational institutions in the city to create a database of skills available and skills needed to be strengthened.”

Once that exercise is completed, the district administration will be in a position to aggressively push for investments as the Karnataka government is also working on a plan to promote equitable growth throughout the State ‘Beyond Bengaluru’.

In that sense, Davanagere’s fortunes hinge on how readily the world looks beyond the benne dose that has placed the city on the culinary map. Or, indeed, beyond Bengaluru.

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