Fruitful project

This is in reference to the news “India, Nepal to upgrade border posts” published in THT on August 4. This is a good move by both the countries as the border areas in the Tarai region lack good infrastructure such as proper roads, bridges etc. This new initiative will help in improving the infrastructure and will enhance trans-border vehicle movement and thus help in efficient movement of the traffic in the border areas. It will also facilitate the Indo-Nepal trade. This project will thus prove fruitful for both India and Nepal.

Chandan Das, KU

Be honest

I was disappointed to read the article “Democracy and free press” by Shirish B

Pradhan published in THT on August 5. Though the government interference in the functioning of the press reflects a sorry state of the nation, journalism is often driven by business motives these days. That is why media houses tend to take sides, which the author

referred as “anti-establishment.”

Journalists should understand that they have a duty towards the public.

Professional journalists can never be pro- or anti-establishment, an idea or group. Instead they should bring out the truth.

Jhapendra Pokhrel,

Ontario, Canada

Lazy staff

Recently I went to a Narayangarh-based bank that is being managed by a foreign company. As the new management has time and again claimed that the work efficiency of the bank has improved, I was hoping to get my work done within minutes and without much of a hassle. But things did not go as planned. Though staff outnumbered the clients, they were

procrastinating work and citing reasons for delay.

The lazy staff and their irresponsive attitude made me realise that not much had changed in the bank. The staff were chatting to each other while the clients had to wait unnecessarily. The employees were neither attentive nor were they in the mood to provide prompt services. I waited for quite sometime to get my work done.

The new management should take note of this. It should revamp the delivery system of the bank before it losses credibility and consumer trust.

Ambika Pandey, Chitwan

Inconvenient

All are joyous that the pre-paid service has been restored, but I want to point out some hurdles the public are facing, especially the non-Nepali people using this service. The NTC

website is in Nepali language which is not much of a help to us. Furthermore the forms have to be attested by a gazetted official and not all people have access to government staff. Even if we find them we have to pay a fee of Rs 400 or more. The forms should be both in English and Nepali and the non-nationals should be allowed to get attested copies from their respective embassies.

All this just seems a gimmick on the part of the authorities to put off the users so that a new company could be launched, as a tender for purchase of telecom equipment was constantly being advertised about six months ago. If the NTC is sincere in its motive then the process could have been made easier. The registration process should be systematic and be made user-friendly.

Steven W Pitts, via e-mail