Opinions | Letters
March 19, 2008
Letters To The Editor - March 19, 2008
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:10 March 19, 2008
More than a woman
I'm not a chauvinist and neither am I against women working, especially if they need to make ends meet. However, after seeing married men going through a tough time with their working wives, I'm sceptical.
Wives sponsored by their husbands should not be allowed to work if they are not professionals. Some of these women neglect their homes, depending completely on servants.
They usually seek the services of colleagues working at low profile jobs to work at home for a pittance or employ illegal maids. Their husbands don't put in quality work, as there are several disturbances - calls and issues that need attention. Many often cook after work, while their wives act tired.
Surprisingly, I've met many immaculate, articulate, beautiful and home-proud housewives, who have both knowledge and sound education and do all the work at home without any house help. There is no pretense. If you are one such woman, I bow to you.
By Mr S. Ranjan
Dubai
Avoiding casualties
I would like to register a complaint regarding the horrible road situation near the main junction in Bur Dubai. Due to the ongoing construction of the Metro, there is a temporary roundabout made in the middle of this junction.
There are no traffic lights installed from "bank street" towards Shaikh Zayed Road, which is very dangerous for hundreds of people during day and night who want to cross the road.
Please have a traffic light installed at the intersection before it's too late. A casualty may happen at any time.
From A Reader
Dubai
Name withheld by request
No chivalry
I work in Bur Dubai and usually take a bus. Everyday is a struggle at the Deira bus depot. Aside from a very limited number of buses for women, some of us experience unnecessary pushing and physical harassment from men.
I wonder why men nowadays do not believe in chivalry - wherein a man would give up his seat for a woman. I wish drivers would ensure that women occupy seats allocated for women.
From Ms Jessilie G. Rivera
Dubai
Ridiculous
Recently I hired a taxi and was surprised to learn that the driver did not know the route. He kept asking me for directions, stating that he had got his licence only a few days ago.
This was an issue, as I am not well acquainted with the roads either and the taxi was charging me by the minute. A similar thing happened on my way back home as another taxi driver took a longer route and blamed me, stating that I had asked him to do so!
When I told him that there would be a complaint registered, he seemed undisturbed with the idea adding that he would be set free by paying a miniscule amount.
How much more ridiculous can the system get? I hope something can be done soon to eliminate such things, as it creates a bad impression.
From Ms Priyanka Shah
Dubai
Improve bus service
Recently, I waited for two hours for a bus at the main bus station in Musaffah. The last bus is supposed to arrive at 10.30pm, but none came. It's a norm that if one bus does not arrive on time, the next is usually 40 minutes late. Finally, I hired a taxi that cost me Dh50.
I work in Abu Dhabi and thereby have to commute to the city on a daily basis. I cannot afford to take a taxi every day. If one approaches the authorities, they say that the bus would arrive in the next 10 minutes. This is not true. T
he bus service needs to improve, with a bus every 20 minutes. This is needed especially because half of the Abu Dhabi population stays in Musaffah. If something can be done, please do it.
From A Reader
Abu Dhabi
Name withheld by request
In a dilemma
I stay in Ajman and work in Al Quoz. I used to travel with a friend in the morning and this was very helpful. However, he was recently issued a ticket and asked to pay a Dh1,000 fine, on the pretext that car-pooling is illegal.
My friend is no longer willing to take me and I am finding it extremely difficult to find alternate transport to reach Al Quoz by 8am.
A taxi from Ajman to Al Quoz is expensive. An average person earning Dh4,000 as salary cannot afford to pay Dh5,000 for transport. If I had to take a bus, I would have to first take a taxi to reach the Ajman bus stand, catch a bus to Dubai and another from Dubai to Al Quoz.
I would probably reach office by 10am if I started the journey at 6am. I cannot afford to buy a car, neither can I quit my job or move to Dubai.
From A Reader
Ajman
Name withheld by request
Limited seats
My wife works on Shaikh Zayed Road, while we live in Satwa. Even though both the areas are quite close to each other, it takes a minimum of two hours for her to reach home after work every day.
Our combined salaries are not enough to hire a taxi on a daily basis. Therefore we have to rely on buses. The problem is that the frequency of buses is quite slow.
Moreover even if a bus does stop, there are limited seats for women. I would like to ask the Roads and Transport Authority to provide a bus exclusively for ladies or increase the seating capacity in the existing buses.
I would also like to add that a good network of buses would help reduce the traffic, as more people would prefer using buses instead of their cars.
From Mr Sujith Nair
Dubai
Bad attitude
I had booked a taxi by calling the hotline number of a service. The customer service agents were very efficient in dealing with me. But the taxi did not show up for one and a half hours.
Despite repeated calls to the company, I was asked to lodge a complaint with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) against the errant taxi drivers, which I did.
I am still awaiting for a favourable response from the RTA officials as to what action is being taken against such bad attitude of the taxi drivers.
From Ms Amee A.
UAE
Not usual
Fog creates an environment in which drivers lose a sense of speed or space. In scientific studies of driving behaviour in the US, during heavy fog, law-abiding drivers travelling at the posted speed limit would speed up from 60 to 90 kilometres per hour when they drove into fog.
And this happened consistently. Therefore, the recent horrific accident outside Abu Dhabi wasn't due to the usual speeding of UAE drivers as there is nothing "usual" about driving in fog.
If they were driving at 150 kilometres per hour before reaching the fog-infested area, they all, undoubtedly, sped up upon entering it. We can only thank God that many were saved from worse injuries and death.
From Dr Beverly Jensen
Al Ain
No taxis in Hor Al Anz
It is next to impossible to halt a taxi in the Hor Al Anz area and in Deira. Firstly there are no taxis available and if one is fortunate enough to come across one, the taxi driver just looks the other way and drives fast. What can one do?
The taxi booking facility is not very useful either. I was scheduled for an interview and waited for almost an hour. It was an exasperating experience.
I would appreciate it if some logical and practical solution could be put in place. It would help make Dubai one of the world's most convenient cities.
From Mr Bosco
Dubai
Full name withheld by request
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