The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Letters to the Editor

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

LETTERS

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Rail fare hike unavoidable

The hike in railway fare is unavoidable as it has been needed for a very long time. A hike of 2 to 10 paise per kilometre is not an issue if it ensures provision of quality of service in the trains including cleanliness, better quality food and security of people. Thus, the fare hike is justified but the Railways should also concentrate on safety and comfort of passengers.

Ishmit Oberoi, Ludhiana

The public can understand the increase in railway fares; however, someone must also take the responsibility to keep the coaches clean. Even the food trays attached to the seats in AC coaches are not clean. Once, travelling in an AC coach, I got sick and had to throw up due to a dirty tray.

Cleaning might arguably not be in the job description of the minister, but it is the duty of the one supervising the cleaning agency. I hope someone in the news media has the guts to write about cleanliness in Railways coaches.

Pargat S Sehra

Barbarism

This is with reference to the editorial ‘Pak Army’s barbaric act’ (January 10). We bow our head with pain, reverence and regard for our slain soldiers and also bow our heads for we are ashamed of a weak, ineffective, insensitive and irrational government. Pakistan is doing all such acts, attacking the Parliament, Pakistani terrorists attacking Taj Hotel at Mumbai and now attacking our soldiers within our territory, beheading them and taking the head of our soldier away as trophy. Why this all happening? It is our government’s cowardice, faulty foreign policy of appeasement and ineffectual confidence-building measures.

It is an acclaimed truth that a coward dies every day and the brave dies only once. The present government has failed on all fronts; it has failed to provide internal security to innocent citizen like Damini and has also failed to provide external security to its soldiers. It is comes across as grossly insensitive when its senior ministers like Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid says, “We are waiting for the details of the incident. Is the beheaded body of the soldier not sufficient? It is neither a ‘local incident’ as Kamal Nath, a senior UPA minister, is saying and adding insult to injury. It is time for the government to take Pakistan head-on and teach it a lesson which it remembers forever.

This was a well-planned action of Pakistan army which cannot be taken as an unprovoked and small action. Pakistan virtually waged an undeclared war.

Capt (retd) Amar Jeet Kumar, Mohali

Asaram’s discourses

The statement given by self-styled godman Asha Ram Bapu in reference to gang rape of a Delhi girl is highly condemnable. These so-called saints should keep themselves away from controversies and focus on their religious sermons. Their main aim should be to show people the right path and not to misguide them with their unsavoury remarks.

What kind of message was he trying to give to women by describing them as frail and inferior to men? Ironically, most of the followers of Asaram, who happen to be mostly women, appreciated his views on the helplessness of women before the man- dominated society.

I request the authorities to ban public discourses of such self-proclaimed godmen. There should be some kind of censorship on the use of uncivilised and prejudiced sermons delivered on religious platforms.

Vipin Sehgal, Kurukshetra

Without bank account
Despite more than six decades of Independence, 30 per cent households living in rural areas notified to be within municipal limits of Chandigarh are not having any bank account. Not only this, just 28 per cent of the total banking population of rural area possess ATM cards while the users of Internet banking and mobile banking stands at 12 and 8 per cent respectively.
In contrast, 85 per cent of the urban population of the City Beautiful carries ATM cards and nearly 75 per cent have an access to Internet banking. These were the findings of a study conducted by Dr. Rajiv Khosla of University School of Business, Chandigarh University. The study aimed at finding out demographic inequalities in using internet banking by rural and urban customers in the Chandigarh area.
Results of the study pointed out that formerly private sector bank customers have started inclining towards public sector banks after US recession or the Eurozone crisis. So far the use of internet banking is concerned, results portrayed a skewed representation. A majority of consumers, in order to avoid hassles of bureaucracy in obtaining or depositing loan forms or for paying loan instalments or falling prey to middlemen in the financial institutions, are compelled to use Internet banking services.
Besides, over-occupancy of consumers in their domain and the increasing use of Internet at homes and offices also encouraged widespread use of Internet banking. Non-users of Internet banking divulged the non-comfortability in the use of technology along with the easiness of the use of primitive techniques of banking to be the restraints in Internet banking. Only a few consumers felt insecurity as a reason for non-usage of Internet banking services.
RAJIV KHOSLA, University School of Business, Chandigarh
University, Gharuan