April 3, 2008

Creative usage lends support
With reference to the recent Gulf News report asking residents to use water intelligently, I would like to share an experience that I had with young children while conducting a programme on thrift habits.

These children were below 13 years of age and displayed a lot of concern for water and power consumption and its wastage.

I had a complaint from a boy stating that his father would keep the water tap running, while he shaved. Another girl complained about her mother's habit of always keeping the lights on in the kitchen.

Interestingly the practical solutions came in from the same group of children. On the first issue, a boy suggested fixing a sticker on the mirror that read: 'Water is precious - don't waste it'.

The solution provided for the next problem was to fix a bright coloured notice on the right side of the door that would remind the mother to turn the lights off, each time she left the kitchen.

If all people, including children could be creative and intelligent in their usage of precious resources, it would be a great support in helping reduce wastage of the same.
From Mr K. V. Shams Al Deen
Sharjah

Lacking substance
Each day before leaving for work, I make it a point to read Gulf News. Most often, I have noticed that the content lacks substance, especially in the online edition of the newspaper.

Each time I am done reading the news, I feel the same. I do hope that Gulf News can improve in the online area and add more substance to the news provided.
From Mr Jarod
UAE
Full name withheld by request

Innocent affected
Smoking in public places should be prohibited immediately as it tends to harm the health of innocent non-smokers - women and children who are compelled to inhale passive or second hand smoke.

I have done a bit of research, which states that second hand smoke causes bronchitis and other lung diseases.

As per the American Lung Association survey, there are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 cases of infections every year.

These include bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and children less than 18 months of age who breathe secondhand smoke.

These often result in 7,500 to 15,000 cases requiring hospitalisation.
From Mr Majid K. M.
Abu Dhabi

Ludicrous
While I applaud the authorities for the rent cap, there is an urgent need to introduce a law that could help protect people that rent property for the first time.

The amount that most tenants are charged by landlords is ludicrous. Today, Dh400,000 is the new Dh150,000 - the former being the most quoted figure when one tries to rent a four-bedroom villa in any area of uptown Dubai.

To top it all, some landlords ask for the prospective tenant's nationality. Is this an attempt to discriminate?
From Ms Awan
Dubai
Full name withheld by request

Misinformed
Recently, I applied for a credit card from Finance House, wherein the sales agent promised that the card was free for life. Later, he upgraded the card to a 'gold package' stating that I would enjoy more features.

On receiving the card and before activating it, I called up the call centre to reconfirm if the credit card was actually free. On confirmation, I activated the card.

The following week I was surprised that my account had been debited with Dh275 charged as participation fee.

I informed the agent that I had never agreed on this and since no mention had been made in the terms and conditions I would like to cancel the card.

The agent replied that since I had activated the card, I would have to pay before cancellation.

They further informed me that I would have to spend Dh2,000 to be eligible for a five per cent that was promised as part of the package and which would be credited to my account after six months.

I had already spent over Dh2,000 before my statement date, thinking that I would have got a discount on my purchases. However, they withheld the debits for my purchases on the last day of my statement.

Instead of showing a debit of over Dh2,000, my statement showed only Dh1,705. Does any UAE transaction take more than a day to debit?

This is absolute cheating. Banks such as these misuse the UAE law to their advantage.
From Mr Jairaj K.
UAE

Editor's note: Despite repeated reminders, Finance House failed to respond.

Back to the past
I welcome the new proposed service ("New bus service between Dubai and Sharjah," Gulf News, March 30).

Since the buses now stop near the fish market in Sharjah and not Rolla, people are forced to walk or take a taxi to reach Rolla.

It would be of great help if these buses stopped at Rolla, like they used to.
From Ms Hema Raghupathy
Dubai

Reserved lanes
I guess this is a fairly good move by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). A double-decker bus means more people can travel on the same bus without increasing the traffic on roads.

However, considering the traffic, I guess a lane dedicated only for the RTA buses would be a good idea.
From Mr Akil
Dubai

Not a solution
Buses will not solve the problem for working people who travel from Sharjah to Dubai as most of the bus stations are located out of the way and are therefore inconvenient to travellers.
From Ms Jane
Sharjah
Full name withheld by request

Worse traffic
I always wait for more than an hour to ride a bus from the Bur Dubai bus station to Sharjah because of a lack of available buses.

The move to add more buses from Dubai to Sharjah would help a lot of passengers.

However, more vehicles on the road would mean worse traffic.

Widening of roads, introducing new re-routing plans would help ease traffic congestion.
From Mr Dong
Sharjah