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Thursday, 25 April 2013

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Courtesy at State banks

State banks boast of providing the most customer friendly services but I had a surprise at one of them recently. I went to this bank opposite the bus terminal at Rajagiriya, to pay the last installment of a loan and redeem my FD certificate.

As I was not sure of the exact amount of the outstanding balance, I left only that cage blank and asked the lady behind the counter the relevant amount, handing over the slip and keeping the money on the counter. I have seen a special counter for us senior citizens on crowded days at this bank, and at many other business centres as well, with a good reputation. The lady however returned the slip and directed me to another counter. I politely said that I was prepared to pay the whole dues then and there, but she paid no attention whatsoever. After another fifteen minutes I reached my turn at her counter and was compelled to ask her whether she was on 'work to rule' that day. What is the use of providing her with a computer if she cannot spend a few seconds to tap her fingertips and provide the efficient service the bank boasts of?

The main factor to determine the efficiency of a bank is the time taken to finish a transaction and release a customer but that did not seem to be the objective here. No teller of any mercantile bank would have acted the way she did. Also all banks and finance companies pay an extra 1% interest for senior citizens on their fixed deposits but this bank was the only place where I found things in a negative attitude. This bank spends millions to advertise their business but does not seem to care for a senior citizen or a regular customer at the counter. The authorities should first introduce a code of conduct for employees on 'courtesy'.

Superiors at the head office at Colpetty should suspend the TV commercials and colourful leaflets and discipline their employees first, to maintain the reputation of the bank intact.

LEON SILVA
ATHURIGIRIYA


Sri Lanka’s cinnamon industry

I read with much interest the article titled ‘Give Life to Cinnamon Industry’, written by Harshi Nadie Perera in the Citizen’s Mail column of April 22, 2013. Of course, cinnamon is our best plantation crop as well as the first crop to earn foreign exchange before tea, rubber or coconut came to the scene. Even today, cinnamon is the fourth most important plantation agriculture crop to earn foreign exchange, as well as to provide a livelihood to many Sri Lankans. The Hanguranketha Givisuma signed on 14th February 1766 between King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe and the Dutch Governor, is the best historical evidence on the cinnamon trade in this country.

The writer states that the present day exporter does not get a fair price for cinnamon. However, that is not correct as the best price for cinnamon is received today. The best Alba grade cinnamon fetches Rs. 1700 per kg and the Hamburg grade gets Rs. 900 a kg. The same cinnamon produced in Madagascar or the Seychelles Islands fetches a maximum of Rs. 1.10 only. It is true that there is a shortage of cinnamon peelers throughout the country and that it is hard to retain the younger generation in this industry, due to low social recognition. Understanding the situation, the Department of Export Agriculture which is the government authorised organisation for the industry, has now established a Cinnamon Training Academy attached to the world’s one and only Cinnamon Research Station located at Pallopitiya in Matara, to provide adequate training in semi-mechanized peeling techniques under a good working environment to those interested. The ultimate aim, is to convert cinnamon peeling sheds to cinnamon factories. This will lead to development of the industry and also facilitate the purchase of cinnamon sticks directly.

The Department provides financial assistance to establish processing centres in addition to cultivating plantations. I am happy to mention that plantation companies have accepted this project and have contributed to expand plantations and have installed their own processing centres under good working environments.

W.D.L. GUNARATNE ,
DIRECTOR GENERAL,
DEPARTMENT OF EXPORT , AGRICULTURE,
PERADENIYA


Kallady bridge in Batticaloa

A new bridge has been opened in Kallady in Batticaloa. In the 1950s we lived about 100 yards away from the old Kallady bridge. I attended St. Michael’s College which at the time was run by Jesuit priests. Some of them took a keen interest in the belief that some fish under the bridge sing in the night. They even published a school newsletter called ‘The Singing Fish’. Senior students organized expeditions to the Kallady bridge on moonlit nights to listen to the fish. They dropped a steel wire with one end tied to a weight into the water, and the other fitted to the bottom of a cigarette tin. When the mouth of the empty tin was placed against the ear, we could hear occasional faint murmurs. The murmurs may have been the flowing of water through the steel wire or sounds made by some kind of fish. Some fathers had gone in a boat and managed to record the noise made by the fish. On Lake Road, angling was common. Some kinds of small fish when caught, used to make a noise similar to the ornamental Cat Fish or the Dolphin but in a lesser intensity, being comparatively smaller in size. It wasn’t anything close to music but a rhythmic noise.

S.R. BALACHANDRAN
WELLAWATTE


People’s Bank or some people’s bank?

The Kataragama People's Bank Rest built with peoples' money, was opened for pilgrims several years ago. It is large enough for pilgrims to be provided with accommodation, at a nominal or even at a slightly higher rate. That was what happened all these years. It also provided employment for people. All of them treated pilgrims with respect. The Bank of Ceylon too has accommodation and restaurant facilities for pilgrims. The Bank of Ceylon restaurant has a clearly visible sign board, that only vegetarian food is sold there.

The People's Bank Rest stopped providing accommodation to pilgrims, while its restaurant was kept open. From this year, they have stopped that facility too. It is said that this decision was taken by the People's Bank Employees' Union. Can the People's Bank Management enlighten the public on the reason for this closure? Why can't a State bank continue a service they have been providing to the public for many years? It brings to memory how the late Sarath Muttewegama MP once described the People's Bank. He said it was not People's Bank but it was some People's Bank. May I ask whether the bank employees' bank does not want to feel the pulse of the people?

PALITHA JAYASINGHE
NAWALA


The Victoria Building in Colombo Fort

There is an eighty odd year old building opposite the Fort Railway station located in a corner, at the intersection of Front Street and Olcott Mawatha to be precise, with the wordings ‘Victoria Building 1929’ on the facade. The top floor of this building is in a dilapidated condition. There are a couple of shops, pharmacies, textile shops on the ground floor as well as hotels and other shops in the adjoining buildings. I do not know why the UDA has not taken action to demolish this building which poses a major risk of collapsing at any moment like the six storey building that sank and tilted in Maliban Street on the adjoining road, recently.

In that case, luckily there were no causalities and at the time of the incident, the watcher of the building who had been inside had somehow managed to escape.

When I thought of the loss of lives that may occur in the event of the building collapsing during a rush hour, I thought of drawing the attention of the Defence Secretary who is in charge of the UDA, to take action to demolish this building. Suitable alternate accommodation could be provided to the existing tenants until such time the building is completely renovated.

MOHAMED ZAHRAN
COLOMBO 3


Muslims thank President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurance that there will be no communal disharmony or violence in Sri Lanka is very commendable, timely and a relief for Muslims who have been continuously agitated over the trivial issue of halal certificates for food items.

This assurance was given to visiting resident heads of 15 Islamic countries who met the President at Temple Trees last week.

It is evident that Muslims in Sri Lanka are a peace loving people who strongly stood for its integrity and sovereignty. Even during the war times the Muslims of this country did not support a separate state and stood for a united Sri Lanka. Even in the past the Muslims have remained as patriotic citizens and played their role in gaining independence.

The Muslim community thank the President for giving the assurance that any type of communal violence by any extremists elements will be strictly dealt with.

Z.A.M. SHUKOOR ARA NAYAKE


Widen Bribery Commission’s scope

Corrupt elements seem to be hampering government's efforts centred on developing the country. This situation is a setback to the government's resolve to boost economic prosperity in Sri Lanka. These miscreants pose a real threat to society. In this atmosphere, people seem to be easily inclined to drift into crimes such as bribery, fraud deception and similar shady deals. Complaints of bribery and corruption now happen to be a common occurrence. The solution to this menace lies in widening the Bribery Commission's scope of investigating complaints. On account of the volume of complaints officials have been experiencing pressure and may have been making little headway in their investigations. Therefore it is very clear that the Bribery Commission's capacity for investigating complaints needs to be strengthened by expanding operations at provincial level. The hope for reform is the intensification of efforts on the part of the Bribery Commission.

NANDARATNE RAJAPAKSHA
AMBALANGODA

 

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