After driving about 280 km from Bengaluru on Bengaluru-Honnavar Road, a hoarding -- “Welcome to Steel Town” -- greets travellers. Bhadravathi, the town on the banks of the river Bhadra, has earned the title of “Steel Town” because of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited, a 100-year-old industry set up by the Mysuru rulers.
Visionary ruler Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and the Dewan of Mysore State Sir M. Visvesvaraya were instrumental in setting up the industry that brought name and fame to the town. Though it started as a small unit with limited capacity in 1923, over the years it increased its production and offered jobs to thousands of people for several decades. The industry, now merged with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is facing the same crisis that it faced in its initial years.
