Pedestrians obeying the rules
The thought of people dying because of accidents has always provoked me to know the cause. Through this letter I would like to enlighten people about the main causes of accidents. Accidents are not only caused because of drivers talking on the phone while driving. This is only one of the causes, but does not form the root of all accidents. Pedestrians must be extremely careful while crossing the road.
Each road is provided with a crossing area so that pedestrians are safe when they cross, but people are not ready to use these sections of road! I would even say that most of us don’t follow the pedestrian signals. In these cases, what rights do we have to blame the drivers for all the accidents caused? It is high time that people should start becoming more responsible for themselves and obey the traffic rules strictly in order to avoid mishaps.
I hope this letter helps people to understand the necessity of obeying traffic rules and regulations.
From Ms Sai Madhurya
UAE
Fine is too high
When I read this story about Mohammad Osman’s hefty fine from a city bus violation, I felt that the Roads and Transport Authorities (RTA) should help him by reducing the fine (‘‘I was fined Dh2,000 for exiting a bus’,’ Gulf News, October 9). I think this should happen because the labour and middle class commuters are the ones using public transportation the most. Their salaries are mostly from Dh800 to Dh4000. They cannot afford a fine up to Dh2000. So, I would like to request to the RTA team to kindly reduce the fine to something he could afford.
From Mr Mohammad Shoaib Lodhi
Dubai
Website comment
Is this fair?
Being a regular commuter on the RTA buses, I don’t even know if I’m sure which door is the emergency exit. I know they have the windows showing emergency exits, but I never knew they even had an emergency exit door. Usually when the RTA officers approach the bus, the bus drivers disable the doors, so even if you punch the open button, the doors don’t open. My understanding for the current RTA bus fleet was that you can’t open the bus doors while the bus is in motion, so how is it that people are risking their lives just to avoid a fine? I don’t know if the fine issued to this person is fair.
From Mr N. D. Mohaisnah
UAE
Website comment
Patience needed
If the passenger had paid for his travel, then I think the inspector could have shown a little patience and explained to him the dangers of exiting via the emergency door and then fined him a minimum amount. This seems to be a harsh punishment, as he was not a ticket-less traveller.
From Ms Maria Kutty
Dubai
Website comment
A tough price to pay
The perpetual bad boy of cricket, Kevin Pietersen, who is now publishing a book detailing his bad days at the English Test camp (‘Leaked email exposes Kevin Pietersen’s poor behaviour,’ Gulf News, October 9). He refuses to accept that he is no longer part of Test folklore! This is only partly his fault, as part of the blame rests in the arrogance that made him a scapegoat for him being South African - a side that clobbered them and caused the demise of three skippers’ careers: Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Andrew Strauss. The poor Pretorian bore the brunt of the last defeat that caused the exit of his compatriot, Strauss. This is a tough price to pay when you ‘jump ship’ and try your luck in another country.
From Mr A. R. Modak
Johannesburg, South Africa
Unfair banking
I read the story on the bank loan settlement issue in the complaints section, and I have had a similar issue (Your Complaints: ‘Can my bank adjust loan settlement amount?’ asks reader, Gulf News, October 8). I had a personal loan with a bank and I changed my job, I had informed all possible concerned people at the bank about my change of job, but once my previous employer deposited the full and final settlement, the bank took my gratuity and leave pay and adjusted it to the principle amount of the loan! This was all done with a one per cent transaction fee and my account was held for a long time.
From Mr Lokesh G. T.
UAE
Bully alarm invention
In relevance to the recent discussions on bullying in schools and the unfortunate stabbing incident, I would like to write about an innovation called the ‘Bully Alarm’, which won first prize at a Young Inventors competition conducted by Fun City at the Oasis Centre in Dubai recently. It was made by an 11-year-old student. It is heartening to see young students take responsibility for themselves and their student community. The very presence of such devices in schools will deter their peers from indulging in anti-social and aggressive behaviour. While adults have given their opinion on how to tackle the menace, we need to take the opinion of children who are the most important stakeholders in this situation.
From Mr Isaac Thomas
UAE
Beautiful car!
The recent purchase of a vintage car by a Saudi businessman is very interesting (‘Saudi businessman pays $100,000 for vintage car,’ Gulf News, October 7). What a beautiful old car! Paying $100,000 (Dh367,300) is actually not that expensive considering what we’re looking at. I myself bought a painting a few years ago - a Jackson Pollock 136cm x 145cm oil on canvas, signed by Jackson Pollock. It is worth much more than what I paid for it now. How lucky one can be!
From Mr Niels Lundgreen
Copenhagen, Denmark
Website comment
(NOTE: THE BELOW LETTER IS TO GO IN A BOX)
A message
The Embassy of Mexico to the United Arab Emirates would like to share with readers the strong condemnation of the Government of Mexico against the despicable and unacceptable acts of violence that happened in Iguala, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, as well as the actions taken to search for the missing people and bring the perpetrators to justice.
• The Federal Government is cooperating and coordinating with the security institutions and the judiciary of the State of Guerrero.
• The Federal Government, through the Security Cabinet, is participating in the enquiry, identifying the people responsible and bringing them to justice.
• The Federal Government has sent to the Iguala municipality the following — Army troops, the Federal Police and the new Gendarmerie to take control of the area.
• The Gendarmerie are now in charge of security in the municipality. This institution controls the different access routes to Iguala and is carrying out surveillance to prevent further problems and protect the population.
• The General Public Prosecutor’s Office formed a special team to help the enquiry on this case.
• The Director of the Criminal Investigation Agency, Zerón de Lucio, travelled to Guerrero to lead the enquiry.
• The General Public Prosecutor, Jesús Murillo Karam, met the families of the missing students. He offered them the full support of the Government of Mexico to solve the case.
• In addition to the first 22 detainees, in the last hours, four more people were arrested.
• 117 policemen of Iguala municipality are being investigated and undergoing thorough tests.
• All weapons of the local Police have been confiscated to be studied and analysed.
• The Federal authorities have reinforced the team of forensic medical staff, as well as other criminal experts, to help in the enquiry.
• Experts from Argentina are participating in the enquiry.
• Army and Navy troops, as well as Federal Police officers and staff of the National Investigation and Security Center, have carried out intelligence gathering missions in the area.
I thank you for the opportunity your influential newspaper gives me to convey this message to your wide audience.
From Mr Francisco Alonso
Ambassador of Mexico
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