Bengaluru floods | Smaller cities, with own economies is the solution, says Nithin Kamath

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath.

Techies on tractors, work from home, waterlogged streets and flooded homes, the rain woes of India’s tech hub Bengaluru have left policymakers and industry leaders scrambling for solutions.

The future lies in smaller cities, "with their own economies", India’s largest online brokering firm Zerodha’s founder Nithin Kamath has said.

"Most large Indian cities weren't built in a way to handle as many people living in them today. Disasters are bound to continue," the CEO of the Bengaluru-based firm tweeted on September 9.

"The only real solution is to have many smaller cities with their own economies," Kamath added, saying nearly 50 percent of Zerodha's team lived in small cities, "a silver lining from COVID".

Heavy rain this week led to waterlogging in several parts of the city, throwing life out of gear. The IT corridor was particularly hit hard, with several industry leaders asking for a permanent solution to the city’s rain and traffic woes.

According to the Zerodha chief, the companies that are considering a move to another big city will find only a "temporary fix".

"If companies can afford to have teams work remotely or through small satellite offices, I think they should nudge teams to work out of small towns and cities," he said in the series of tweets.

Allowing employees to work from the smaller cities will also give a boost to the local economy, while tackling the raging issue of climate change, he said.

"The best part is if these people consume locally, it can also help in terms of climate change issues and creation of livelihood, probably the two biggest problems we are facing as a nation. Otherwise, money keeps circulating in the large cities, enticing everyone to migrate," Kamath explained.

This will also lead to "more savings, lesser time in traffic and better work-life balance", he added.

This is what we are chasing through our foundation, @RainmatterOrg, backing organisations working on helping smaller towns and villages to be self-sustainable, help create livelihoods and more. https://t.co/WAvw9J0jUE 5/5

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) September 9, 2022

The coronavirus outbreak led to a spurt in remote working, as restrictions on the movement of people and goods forced the companies to rethink work.

While the pandemic has ebbed, a sizeable section of firms continue with work from home or have opted for hybrid work that requires employees to come to the office for a few days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the National Conference of Labour Ministers of all States and Union Territories on August 26, advocated for flexible working options.

"The future needs flexible workplaces, a work-from-home ecosystem and flexible work hours. We can use systems like flexible workplaces as opportunities for women's labour force participation," Modi had said.