Water shortage
From Mr. Y.A.Z. Marvi, Dubai.
Last month Sharjah Industrial Area 1 had a water shortage for six consecutive days. Again this month it has occurred for the past three days. I telephoned the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority to inquire about restoration of supply and I was fobbed off by someone saying it would be restored "soon".
I thought of calling a tanker service to provide water, but decided against, afraid of being fined by Sharjah Municipality. But how are we supposed to manage without water?
Worthwhile
From Mr. C.P., Dubai.
I agree with Mr. Ridley ("Impressive" Gulf News, April 10). The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding is a wonderful organisation that has many interesting cultural programmes to offer.
I had the pleasure of hearing Abdullah bin Eisa Al Serkal speak twice and he is patient, has a good ability for public speaking and a great sense of humour. It would be wonderful to see more similar programmes in Dubai.
Unfortunately the "Open Doors Open Minds" programme has not been shown on Dubai TV or was cancelled. It is a shame, as it was a wonderful programme. Hopefully, by the Dubai Summer Surprises we will see more. Thanks to all staff at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding for trying to bring UAE nationals and expatriates together.
* Full name withheld by request.
Ubiquitous
From Mr. A. Mushtaq, Dubai.
Ms Khan ("Accusations" Gulf News, April 9) seems to have finally realised that corruption exists in India at all levels.
And I don't think it is a good attitude, in the interest of the Indians, not to believe in law and justice.
Power play
From Mr. P.V. Venugopalan, Dubai.
The greed for power among politicians in the Congress Party has again surfaced with Karunakaran's outburst. As a member of parliament, he wants his daughter to be a member of the legislative assembly. The Congress Party is lucky Karunakaran has only two children.
Please pleas
From A Reader, Dubai.
I read many letters requesting schools to show consideration for children's comfort by providing air conditioned school busses.
But the pleas go unheeded. Some schools cite lack of funds, others are slowly replacing their existing fleet with air conditioned buses. But how long will it be before all school busses are air conditioned as standard?
Ministry orders state that school buses should be air conditioned, but the order has not been fully implemented. Some school managements claim "buses on routes near the school do not need air conditioning." But they forget children wait up to half an hour before the bus leaves the school so it is like a hot oven. This causes parents to worry about the health of their children.
* Name withheld by request.
Prohibited
From Mrs. N. Amir, Abu Dhabi.
I thank you for publishing the news item "Tobacco ad campaigns flayed" (Gulf News, April 8). Even when parents are non-smokers, with free cigarettes being offered everywhere how can children resist the temptation?
I recently went to a cinema theatre and was shocked to see a promotion for cigarettes in the lobby. They gave cigarettes freely to teenagers, together with promotional hats, bags and other gifts.
How can any cinema management allow this, when most of their customers are teenagers? When I had watched the film and as I came out, I saw many teenagers standing around smoking.
Easy way
From A Reader, Dubai.
I refer to your Special Report "The living nightmare of loans" (Gulf News, April 7). For emergency cases, loans and credit cards can be good, loyal servants easing a difficult path through life.
Yet when difficulties arise, banks should be more understanding and allow concessions to its borrowers. But the public should not fall for the bank's enticing advertisements for loans and credit cards.
* Name withheld by request.
Real service
From Mr. B.J. Paes, Dubai.
My family and I attended a Dubai Country Club Family Charity Fête. We were fortunate to win the grand prize of four return air tickets to Bangkok with four nights stay in a five-star hotel.
On approaching the podium to collect our prize as a family of five, my wife and our three children, the representative from Eagle Star International Life immediately offered to pay for the entire family. This, as I later found out, would cost the company much more considering the ages of my children. The company also arranged adjoining rooms for us at the hotel.
It is heartening to know that "service" is still an important part of the sales process. I would like to share our real life experience with others who, like myself, may have lost hope in the system. I thank Eagle Star International Life for their generosity.
Don't change
From A Reader, Dubai.
I refer to the article "Friday Market to get bigger, better" (Gulf News, April 8). It looks as if Dubai Municipality is going for "overkill" on building of a permanent home for the Friday Market at Hamriya. As it is currently set up the Friday Market is a great idea. People go because they know they can get a bargain.
Stall holders have no overheads such as rent and electricity bills, 80 per cent of the charm of the market is due to its traditional tents, etc. So, Dubai Municipality should allow it to continue in the spirit it was set up. Not everything needs to be spruced up for tourists.
* Name withheld by request.
Illiberal
From Mr. C. Ramachandran, Buraimi, Oman.
It was amusing to read Dr. Varughese's letter ("Slanted" Gulf News, April 8). He demanded respected journalists like Shenoy and Ajay Jha stop writing for the Gulf News. Such intolerance is not the policy of Gulf News because its editors do not take orders from pseudo secularists and Vatican-encouraged outfits. Perhaps Dr. Varughese would like John Daniel, who rushed to president Clinton to ask for imposition of sanctions against India, to write for Gulf News.
Point system
From Mr. D. Mills, Sharjah.
After reading the article "New project to ensure safety on Dubai roads" (Gulf News, April 9) I was struck with a simpler and cheaper solution. If individual driver's licences are associated with a point system such that every violation (including speeding) attracted points, once a limit was reached the license would become null and void for a specified period of time. This works quite well in the U.S.
No proof
From Mr. S. D'Souza, Dubai.
I took part in a Karaoke competition with a friend, singing a duet. We were acclaimed by the crowd and judges and even the compere who was dumbstruck with our performance. But we were disqualified as one of the judges claimed we were professionals. Also the dj said we practised beforehand. What comments! They have no basis in fact.
I work for an airline at Dubai airport. My friend works for a travel agency. We met, in fact, the same evening, ran an audio cassette once and then sang.
The decision left the audience disgruntled, which was apparent when a woman shouted, "not fair". She was ready to fight
Letters To The Editor - April 13
Water shortage, Worthwhile, Ubiquitous, Power play, Please pleas, Prohibited, Easy way, Real service, Don't change, Illiberal, Point system, No proof,