August 24, 2008

Don't misuse generosity
The Abu Dhabi traffic police are very considerate about the parking problems faced by residents and do not issue a parking ticket, unless someone has genuinely blocked traffic. Credit is due to them for their generosity. However, I have noticed that certain motorists tend to take advantage of this fact. Some park right beside an already parked vehicle and coolly place their mobile number on the windscreen. In case of an emergency, it is extremely frustrating to find that your car has its access blocked. The individual could start to panic and as a reaction, get upset and cause an accident. I would suggest for the traffic police to fine such perpetrators on the spot. Though parking on main roads has been limited to 7am, there are cars that are parked till 10 to 11am. I guess these are people who do not bother and continue to repeat their mistakes.
From Mr Arvind T. Dhumale
Abu Dhabi

Sad news
The resignation of Pervez Musharraf from the post of the president is very sad news ("Pakistan's President Musharraf announces resignation," Gulf News, August 19). We have lost a great leader who was honest, wise and experienced. Now the people in Pakistan are very happy. It's a very delightful moment for them because Musharraf has stepped down. Let them celebrate today, but tomorrow they will cry as Pakistan is going through a very critical situation. Musharraf did a lot for Pakistan. And being an overseas Pakistani, I salute him with respect and wish him good luck for his future.
From Mr Abdullah Khurshid
Dubai

Crucial facts
Amidst all the euphoria generated in Pakistan and elsewhere over Pervez Musharraf's resignation, let us not overlook the crucial fact that he did allow free and fair elections to be held in Pakistan in February and though the results were not in his favour, he did not try to undermine the democratic process by declaring a state of emergency. In short he did not cling to power. One only needs to look at the recent events surrounding the elections in Zimbabwe and the role played by another dictator to put Musharraf's actions in the right perspective.
From Mr Amitabh Saxena
Dubai

Worries for Pakistan
Farewell to Pervez Musharraf, a sincere leader, a patriotic Pakistani and a true soldier who stepped down with dignity only in the interest of his nation. He served with true and unfailing honesty during the most critical period of Pakistan's history. With his wisdom and courage, he brought the country out of corruption and economic crisis of the worst kind, left behind by previous leaders. I worry for the fate of my country now.
From A Reader
Pakistan
Name withheld by request

Good doctors needed
Many doctors working in clinics and hospitals in the UAE seem to be rather inefficient and incompetent. It would help if they were asked to write annual tests to prove their competency level as this would discourage them from endangering precious lives. With the population increasing every day, it is very important that we have trustworthy and reliable doctors.
From Ms Ritu S.
Dubai

Poor service
On July 5, one of Emirates National Bank of Dubai's (NBD) Automated Teller Machine (ATM) captured my card. I contacted the customer service number on the same day. I was told that it would be returned to the location of my choice within three working days. I was requested to contact customer service to confirm that the card had been sent before I picked it up, which I did.
While re-confirming four working days later, I was informed that it had been sent to a different branch. There, I was informed that the card had arrived after two working days and was returned after another two days. This is the bank's policy, but no one bothered to contact me. I asked to close my account and was instead offered a replacement card, which would take another three working days to arrive.
After three days, I called Emirates NBD's customer service again and they confirmed that the card had been sent. I received the Airway Bill Number from Aramex to track the card. When I called Aramex, I was told that the number was registered under another person's name. I spent the whole day trying to locate the card but neither Emirates NBD nor Aramex could track it. For the past five weeks I have had to queue for two hours and even longer to withdraw money from my account. For this bad service I am charged for every transaction.
From Mr Mustafa Drief
Dubai

The management of Emirates NBD replies:
Our Customer Care Unit resolved Mr Mustafa Drief's issue and action was taken to ensure that it does not occur again. The client has been reimbursed the excess money that was withdrawn from his account for the full amount of Dh70 and a new card has been issued to him.

Open preference
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has yet to solve the taxi problem faced by innumerable commuters on a daily basis. Taxi drivers openly state that they prefer to pick certain nationalities owing to the "tips" that they get at the end of the journey and reject those that do not, irrespective of how long he or she has waited out for a ride. This is extremely frustrating and has forced me to get a licence and buy my own car, something, which I did not plan to do immediately. If the RTA wants to reduce the number of cars on the road, there should be an effective and reliable taxi system available.
From Ms Fathima
Dubai
Full name withheld by request

Extreme costs
The cost of living seems to be rising by the day. Even though many measures have been taken, the situation remains as it is. The price of diesel has become unbelievably high.
From Mr Shajid Hamza
UAE

Final Days
The political duel between Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and president Pervez Musharraf, is becoming quite fierce (“More Pakistani lawmakers push Musharraf to resign'', Gulf News, August 13). The country that Musharraf befriended after the September 11 attacks, namely the US, has deserted or betrayed him. As a military general, he has the necessary diplomatic skills and a tactful way of thinking. But he completely underestimated the political system in Pakistan and the authority of the tribal people and the influence they hold over the people of Waziristan. Now, president Musharraf is counting his final days in his seat of presidency. No doubt, he was a powerful and tactful general - but his alliance with the US has cost him dearly.
From Mr Murtaza Shamsi
Dubai

A problem?
Gulf News's recent report about visa runs could signal yet another problem (“Short visa runs set to end, says UAE official'', Gulf News, June 27). However, the report fails to mention that visas are issued only for one month and at a cost of Dh550, which is about the same amount as a flight to nearby countries. No one wants to make these runs, as the flights are not conducive to a few hours. Longer than that, and the visa runner loses an entire day. I think the UAE should create a six-month or one-year visa program. When people overstay their visa period, which is a regular occurrence, they are punished with a stiff penalty. However, many consider extending their stay as the only option in such times.
From Ms Karen Mangrove
Dubai

Lifesavers
When I lived in Pennsylvania, in the US, I often noticed that a stop sign is ejected from both sides of a school bus, each time students are dropped off. Vehicles behind the buses are required to stop when the sign is turned on. I am sure it is worth the money to install these life-saving devices.
From Ms Olga Ann
USA

The green way
It is possible to construct ‘green buildings', that are both healthy and energy-efficient and can generate considerable reductions in construction and operation costs (“Higher rents from greener towers'', Gulf News, June 28). Reliable studies and recent comparisons with Dubai's high-rise buildings seem to provide evidence for this. For example, state-of-the-art technologies can reduce electricity and decrease cooling bills by a whopping 50 per cent. This done the welcome effects of energy and cost-efficiency will multiply in the long run. Investors and operators develop their buildings with energy-saving capacities because of the overall reduction in construction costs, caused by minimised usage of cooling and ventilation components. This clearly outnumbers additional costs necessary for thermal improvements of facade and shell. Benefits in the multi-million dollar business of the carbon-trade-market generated by the Kyoto Protocol, provide golden opportunities to additionally cash in on the achieved energy savings. All necessary components for energy and cost-efficient buildings are available: reliable technologies, successful methodologies, calculation procedures, products and political and financial tools. Perhaps the only missing factor is more customers with an appetite for healthier, sustainable buildings, and with good value for money.
From Mr Franz Emig
Abu Dhabi

Paying for nothing
I think implementing more Salik tollgates is another form of moneymaking. Why would the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) place tollgates when alternatives to public transport are not ready? Public buses operating these days are not equipped to handle great demand, thus making people wait for hours. I think the RTA should first give residents more alternatives to private vehicles, and then set up more tollgates.
From Mr Rajesh Kumar
UAE

Traffic change
I have a suggestion for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to ease the traffic situation in the UAE. I think the distribution of weekend holidays should be different for the private sectors, depending on when the company was registered. For example, if a company were registered in January, its employees would get a Sunday off. If this system were introduced, it would ease traffic congestion to a great extent.
From Mr P. N. Menon
UAE

Extreme costs
The cost of living seems to be rising by the day. Even though many measures have been taken, the situation remains as it is. The price of diesel has become unbelievably high.
From Mr Shajid Hamza
UAE

Final Days
The political duel between Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and president Pervez Musharraf, is becoming quite fierce ("More Pakistani lawmakers push Musharraf to resign", Gulf News, August 13). The country that Musharraf befriended after the September 11 attacks, namely the US, has deserted or betrayed him. As a military general, he has the necessary diplomatic skills and a tactful way of thinking. But he completely underestimated the political system in Pakistan and the authority of the tribal people and the influence they hold over the people of Waziristan. Now, president Musharraf is counting his final days in his seat of presidency. No doubt, he was a powerful and tactful general — but his alliance with the US has cost him dearly.
From Mr Murtaza Shamsi
Dubai

A problem?
Gulf News's recent report about visa runs could signal yet another problem ("Short visa runs set to end, says UAE official", Gulf News, June 27). However, the report fails to mention that visas are issued only for one month and at a cost of Dh550, which is about the same amount as a flight to nearby countries. No one wants to make these runs, as the flights are not conducive to a few hours. Longer than that, and the visa runner loses an entire day. I think the UAE should create a six-month or one-year visa program. When people overstay their visa period, which is a regular occurrence, they are punished with a stiff penalty. However, many consider extending their stay as the only option in such times.
From Ms Karen Mangrove
Dubai

Lifesavers
When I lived in Pennsylvania, in the US, I often noticed that a stop sign is ejected from both sides of a school bus, each time students are dropped off. Vehicles behind the buses are required to stop when the sign is turned on. I am sure it is worth the money to install these life-saving devices.
From Ms Olga Ann
USA

The green way
It is possible to construct 'green buildings', that are both healthy and energy-efficient and can generate considerable reductions in construction and operation costs ("Higher rents from greener towers", Gulf News, June 28). Reliable studies and recent comparisons with Dubai's high-rise buildings seem to provide evidence for this. For example, state-of-the-art technologies can reduce electricity and decrease cooling bills by a whopping 50 per cent. This done the welcome effects of energy and cost-efficiency will multiply in the long run. Investors and operators develop their buildings with energy-saving capacities because of the overall reduction in construction costs, caused by minimised usage of cooling and ventilation components. This clearly outnumbers additional costs necessary for thermal improvements of facade and shell. Benefits in the multi-million dollar business of the carbon-trade-market generated by the Kyoto Protocol, provide golden opportunities to additionally cash in on the achieved energy savings. All necessary components for energy and cost-efficient buildings are available: reliable technologies, successful methodologies, calculation procedures, products and political and financial tools. Perhaps the only missing factor is more customers with an appetite for healthier, sustainable buildings, and with good value for money.
From Mr Franz Emig
Abu Dhabi

Paying for nothing
I think implementing more Salik tollgates is another form of moneymaking. Why would the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) place tollgates when alternatives to public transport are not ready? Public buses operating these days are not equipped to handle great demand, thus making people wait for hours. I think the RTA should first give residents more alternatives to private vehicles, and then set up more tollgates.
From Mr Rajesh Kumar
UAE

Traffic change
I have a suggestion for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to ease the traffic situation in the UAE. I think the distribution of weekend holidays should be different for the private sectors, depending on when the company was registered. For example, if a company were registered in January, its employees would get a Sunday off. If this system were introduced, it would ease traffic congestion to a great extent.
From Mr P. N. Menon
UAE