S Venkataraman, director of realty firm Bengal Shriram, which is engaged in construction of a hi-tech city at Hind Motor in Uttarpara, warned that bandhs were a real threat to the image of Brand Bengal.

"In the IT sector, there are deliverables that have to be met. No excuses are accepted for failure. And when it happens as frequently as it does in Bengal, it is deadly for business process outsourcing units or call centres," he said at a seminar on infrastructure organised by CII on Wednesday.

Though the government has been attempting to shed the negative image of Bengal that fed on militant labour unionism and anti-industry policy in the 1960s and '70s to effectively seal the doors to fresh investment in West Bengal, the government's failure to do away with the bandh culture coupled with the sudden spate of bandhs in the last couple of years has severely dented the state's image yet again. Incidentally, the last bandh was called by Forward Bloc, a constituent of the Left Front.

Lashing out at politicians including Left leaders for lacking foresight and spawning the bandh culture, Venkataraman pointed out that other states were highlighting the shutdowns to score over Bengal in attracting investments.