http://www.banknetindia.com/board/469.html
Name : Sailaja
Subject: Disabled Friendly Environment in Banks
Message : Though Public Sector Banks have been donating and spending crores of rupees under their Community services Programmes they never thought of providing disabled frienldy environment at/in all their branches/offices.
One can have a look at all the branches and offices. None of the branches or offices of the banks are Disabled Friendly. They are either located upstairs or having steps and high counters. So, it is too difficult for a disabled person to come to Bank and fulfil his/her banking needs. If a normal person can think from the angle of the Disabled person - he/she can understand how many hardships a Disabled person has to face to reach the counter and do his/her business.
We have some very huge banks having widespread network. They even have branches in foreign countries. You can observe the Disability Friendly environment provided in USA Banks. Even these banks have provided the disabled friendly environment in their branches in USA. But that is not the case in India.
If the banks earmark a certain percentage of amount out of their profits every year for this good cause, then all branches will be made accessible to the disabled with in no time. The amount spent for this purpose is meagre vis-a-vis their huge profits and the expenditure they incur for various purposes.
It should not be viewed from the commercial perspective. But, it should be viewed from the appreciation the banks would receive from the society in general and the disabled in particular for their good work.
By doing this the banks will be lending their hand in making our country Disabled Friendly.
Please help the disabled, the most deprived class of our society.
http://www.banknetindia.com/board/478.html
Name : Jai Balaji R
Subject: Disabled Friendly Environment in Banks
Message : i fully agree in-principle to the view that the bank should be helpful to the diabled people. in this connection i want to say a few things as under:
a) banks are basically a commercial organisation and has to compete with the other financial intermediataries and their own peer group with a limited man power. the banks at present are under tremendous preassure after the sudden exodus of many staff on account of implementation of vrs. hence putting some special counters is impossible.
b) again since banks are a commercial organisations anything that they do for the disabled should totally commensurate with the overheads and expenses. i do not think that will be the case at the moment. the disabled customers of any bank branch would not even cross .5%. for this small number the bank cannot change its demenour radically.
c) since taking a holistic view of the above situation all banks especially state bank of india organise many community service programme and implement various loan schemes for the livelyhood of disabled people.
d) finally one should be very practical. just putting a special counter or changing the bank premises would not help the problem of disabled. he/she requires avenue for livelyhood. this i hope the banks are doing directly or indirectly. at the same time within their ambit/scope, the banks, for that matter any organisation always takes a sympathetic view of the disabled,sick,elderly persons. perhaps no one will see a physicaly handicapped person standing in long queaue in any of the branches. hence, it cannot be said that banks are not considering the physically handicapped persons. it is doing in some other non ostensible way.
this is not a defence i am posing, being an officer of sbi but only an explanation of facts.
thanks for the interesting question.
'banks always enables the disabled'.
jai balaji officer, sbi
http://www.banknetindia.com/board/489a.html
Name : Madhumita
Subject: Disabled Friendly Environment in Banks
Message : Mr Balaji has digressed from the point that was being made when it is said that banks should ensure that its premises should be accessible to all persons.
Nobody disagrees that banks are commercial organizations and it is for that very reasons that they should ensure that they do not pose barriers for the entry of any customer.
It does reflect a very narrow concern of what obligation the organization owes to its clients.
http://www.banknetindia.com/board/489.html
Name : K Kavita
Subject: Disabled Friendly Environment in Banks
Message : I totally disagree with Mr. Balaji on his untenable opinions expressed by him.
His contention shows the mindset of common Indian in relation to the Disabled people. Unless and until the attitude of ours (able people) doesn't change Diabled people in India will have to suffer.
I would like to prove his arguments wrong .
I agree that the Banks are commercial organisations per se. And the Staff of PSBs are undergoing so much pressure in their daily routine because of VRS. I also experience this being banker (SBH). But it doesn't have to do anything in providing Disabled friendly environment. Just a mere spending for making accessible the physical environment for the disabled doesn't make any dent in the profits of any Bank. We don't need to install any separate counters for the Disabled. Just changing the present physical structure is sufficient.
Moreover the banks are socially and legally obligated to provide this type of atmosphere in Banks as per PWD Act 1995. As the Government is lenient about this act, people do not have much awareness about this act.
Mr.Balaji says even 0.5% of the customers of all branches are not disabled. I don't agree with this also. Even before providing the accessible environment in Banks how can you expect that there are less number of disabled customers. If the banks provide such environment one can observe that the number will increase like any thing.The main reason behing such less number (for the time let us assume that 0.5% is correct)is non avialability of barrier free environment. It obviates the need for the disabled people to depend on others for their banking needs. After all a disabled person also wants to keep his/her transactions secret as we do. In USA even the ATMs are facilitated with Braile. Why can't we do such things in India. IS providing disabled frinedly environment is that much hard for the Banks? Certainly not.
Disabled people do not require sypathy but empathy. To put it in the words of the disabled:
It not tragic to live in a wheel chair. disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things one needs to lead one's life. The design of our physical environment should reflect our understanding of the real needs of the disabled.
