UAE | General
New border rules benefit profiteers, say residents
Insufficient arrangements at the Al Ain-Buraimi border have made crossing between the two cities increasingly difficult for residents and travellers.
- By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:05 July 17, 2008
- Vehicles queue at the Hili border post between Al Ain and Buraimi.
- Image Credit: Aftab Kazmi/Gulf News
Al Ain: Insufficient arrangements at the Al Ain-Buraimi border have made crossing between the two cities increasingly difficult for residents and travellers.
Only two old immigration counters are operating at the Khatam Al Shukla checkpoint and officials of the Department of Naturalisation and Residency said it could take a week before new check-in and check-out counters are running.
The delay has reportedly been caused because not all the machines have been installed yet. The department has, however, been permitting non-GCC UAE residents to cross at the Hili border post until the KAS crossing is ready.
But the convergence of Emiratis, GCC nationals, and non-GCC UAE residents at one border post has caused serious gridlock at Al Hili. People have to wait hours to reach the exit point.
"It is a horrible traffic jam and we are losing time and fuel," said Joseph Eton, a commuter stuck in the traffic near the Hili border post. He said the authorities were insensitive to the public's problems.
Inefficiency
"They should have deferred the new restrictions until all arrangements were complete," he said, adding that people have been paying for the department's inefficiency.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, an Emirati, said the immigration authorities should reopen Al Mudeef crossing temporarily. "I spent two hours yesterday [Tuesday] evening to go to Buraimi. It's too much," he said.
Mohammad Qayyum, an Asian expatriate, said the authorities were creating unnecessary problems. "I do not understand how these restrictions will stop illegal immigrants and smugglers when the border is completely open on roads from Dubai, Sharjah, and Fujairah," he said.
He said anybody can come and go to Oman from Hatta and other places in the northern emirates as there are no fences or checkpoints at the border. "I think the restrictions are aimed at us to force us to move our residences to Al Ain and pay exorbitant rents," he said.
Shakti Kumar, another Asian expatriate, said people have problems but there is nobody to listen to them. "It appears to me as if the authorities have been acting as agents to the profiteers," he said.
Kumar said travel time between Buraimi and Al Ain used to be just two minutes. Repeated restrictions have turned it into a journey of several hours.
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