Gandhi Road in Palani, which is located near the bus stand, is very narrow. It is also a busy road as the market is situated closeby. People, who visit the market, park their vehicles along the Gandhi Road, along with goods-carrying vehicles and four-wheelers. This causes great inconvenience to the public, especially two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. The authorities should take action to decongest traffic on the road.
R. Arunprasanth,
Palani.
Child marriage
Child Marriages are becoming common nowadays in many villages of Ramanathapuram. Girls below the age of 18 are married to older men. Even though child marriage is prohibited, the practice is continued in many parts of Tamil Nadu. Many such marriages are stopped because of timely help from Childline. The biggest need for a girl is at least basic education. An educated woman is a gift for the society. If girls get married at a minor age, they will have to look after all the family needs at a younger age itself. Also, a girl who gets married at a younger age would become a widow much earlier than a woman who gets married at the right age. It is much essential for parents to understand this situation and allow their children to get married at the right age. Parents must make arrangements for their children to get education at the right time instead of getting them married. Children should be encouraged to improve their talents by parents and society.
S. Sruthi,
Ramanathapuram.
Cheque collection charges
Of late, some local banks have started charging account-holders even for collection of cheques of other local banks. Hitherto, it was done only in case of cheques of outstation banks. In Ramanathapuram town, the reason cited by banks for charging is that the ‘collection centre’ at the State Bank of India has now been shifted to Madurai. Adding insult to injury, the collection charges are further added with service tax, thus giving a double blow to account-holders. It is high time the banking ombudsman under the Reserve Bank of India took note of this practice and saved innocent account-holders from unnecessary ‘penalty’ in the guise of collection charges.
Asmabagh Anvardeen,
Ramanathapuram.
Pensioners’ problems
There is a long list of grievances for State pensioners. As of now, family pension is paid to deceased pensioners’ wives or husbands at the rate of 30 per cent. This means that one third of pension is being paid. The family which lived with full pension finds it difficult to eke out a living with the reduced pension after the demise of the pensioner. So there is no justification in the sanction of one-third pension. Full pension drawn by the late pensioner has to be sanctioned. Under the family security fund scheme, a sum of Rs. 50,000 is sanctioned to perform the last rites of a pensioner. Most of the families are unable to perform this important duty as the life of pensioners is fraught with monetary difficulties. Hence, this amount has to be enhanced from Rs. 50,000 to Rs one lakh. There is undue delay at every stage in sanctioning reimbursement to pensioners under the Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Health Fund Scheme. The government should fix a deadline for sanctioning reimbursement to hapless pensioners.
G. Nagasamy,
Ramanathapuram.
