Mysuru: On the lines of IAS and IPS officers, the bank officials should also learn Kannada, said Member of Parliament Pratap Simha.
Addressing the bank and district officials during District Level Review Committee meeting on the performance of the banks for the quarter that ended during March 2018, at Zilla Panchayat auditorium, he said, “Most of the bank officials especially the branch managers and the designations above bank officials are from North India. Though it is mandatory to learn Kannada before getting posted to Karnataka still they have not done it. These officials should start learning Kannada so that it helps them to communicate with our farmers or local people. Due to ignorance of local language, the farmers are finding it difficult to communicate their grievances with the bank officials.”
He also opined that if the bank officials failed to learn Kannada in a stipulated time, their appointment should be cancelled.
K N Shivalingaiah, Chief Manager, Lead Bank, said “Based on Kannada Development Authority’s direction, a circular has been issued to all the public sector banks that Kannada training is a must for all the bank staffs and should also be used for all sorts of communications. Since last week, many banks have already started to adopt and practice Kannada.”
