Up above the world

Sir — The season of kite-flying starts from August 15 and continues till Viswakarma Puja in September. A common sight during this time is kites caught on treetops or overhead lines, trailing long threads that lie invisibly across roads. These threads, called manja, are coated with crushed glass. As such, they are quite dangerous and birds often hurt themselves by getting entangled in them. Since kites can be flown as easily with manja as without it, its sale should be banned, keeping in mind the fast depleting population of small birds in the city.

Yours faithfully,
Ashok Mehta, Calcutta

No interest

Sir — Bank strikes have become a regular affair these days. Each time there is a strike, there appears the usual notice in newspapers asking customers to complete their transactions in advance. The bank authorities take for granted that people know beforehand the amount of money they are going to need in the coming days. But the truth is that no matter how much money one draws up, one might need more in case of an emergency. The two-day bank strike earlier this week affected not only the nationalized banks, but the ATMs of private banks too (“Two day bank strike begins today”, Sept 24). A bank has the obligation to serve its customer on all working days and at all working hours. By the same rule, ATM kiosks too should be open 24 hours. Bank employees should know that when they go on strike and stop all dealings, they, quite unlawfully, deny customers access to their money.

Yours faithfully,
Amit Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir — The recent bank strike has caused a great deal of inconvenience to common men, especially to the senior citizens, who are critically dependent on the day-to-day services of the banks. Bank workers in India are among the highest paid public sector employees and it is unfair of them to shirk work demanding better wages. They should realize that their strike had crippled the commercial activities of the nation and had caused losses worth crores of rupees. Striking employees should be dealt with an iron hand.

Yours faithfully,
R. Sekar, Visakhapatnam

Sir — Nobody would say that India is a poor country given the regularity with which its bank employees go on strike. The last one must have caused massive losses to the economy. And yet, nobody— politicians or the finance minister — seems to be worried about this. It is ironic that the bank workers cause so much pain to the customers whose deposits pay their salaries and perks.

Yours faithfully,
M.M. Kale, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

Sir — For the last few years, public sector banks have been abusing their customers with frequent strikes. In an age of global competition, when these banks need to upgrade their facilities and function more efficiently, they are becoming more disorganized. The private banks are bagging more customers as a result.

One of the reasons for the strike was the proposed merger of subsidiary banks with the State Bank of India. But the consolidation would only help the PSBs, by making them stronger. And there is no point in resisting privatization, which would come sooner or later. It is precisely strikes and rising demands of the employees that make it necessary to transfer the PSBs into private hands.

Yours faithfully,
R. Sajan, Aluva, Kerala

Sir — The merger of nationalized banks with private ones would reduce overhead costs and thus increase profit. And with the affected employees being promised suitable compensation, they have no reason to complain.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash C. Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi