BANKING COMPLAINTS: The current process to lodge any complaint with the Banking Ombudsman involves downloading and then printing a form, filling it up manually, getting it attested from an oath commissioner, attaching the relevant documents and then dispatching it to the postal address. Isn’t it about time the office also considered accepting complaints online with scanned documents? Also, it must review the complaint resolution timelines of 45 days by commercial banks and then two months by the ombudsman office itself.

Jawwad Zaki
Islamabad

GENERIC DRUGS: I am at a loss to understand why the federal health ministry allows different pharmaceutical companies to manufacture the same drug and sell it at different prices. The ministry should call bids from the companies and give permission to the lowest bidder without compromising on the quality aspect. The number of available drugs will come down by about 50 per cent.

Dr Mubeen Malik
Kharian

BREEDING PARASITES: This is apropos the letter ‘Charity in perspective’ (June 2) which rightly asserted that giveaways and handouts take away initiative and responsibility. I have seen families of able-bodied men, women and children queuing up for dole-out spots every single day of the week. Charity should be limited to the acutely disabled and the indigent. This will prove a deterrent to the breeding of parasites.

Muhammad Aslam
Lahore

INDUSTRIAL ESTATES: While hydel power projects are being launched to generate electricity from renewable sources, the factors of transmission losses must be kept in mind, and appropriate steps must be taken to curb the menace. A viable solution would be to construct industrial estates near the project site and provide electricity to the industries at low rates. This will not only reduce power losses, but will also facilitate the industries.

Shahryar Khan Baseer
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2021