Global game
January 29 will be remembered as the day cricket was tried and prosecuted in the court of law ("Racial charges against Singh dropped", Gulf News, January 29). Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has constantly been accused of using its financial strength, it is that very strength that got them justice. Cricket is a global game that cannot be ruled by one or two countries. For cricket to regain its reputation as a gentleman's game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will have to be revamped, with equal representation from all countries that play cricket.
From Mr Santosh Pereira
UAE
No taxis
I have a car but always use a taxi to go into the central areas of the city centre due to the hassles of insufficient parking spaces. A few weeks ago I had to wait no more than five minutes to catch a taxi, but on two more recent occasions, I had to wait almost 30 minutes at the same location for a taxi. There seem to be fewer taxis on the roads now, which hardly makes people want to leave their cars at home. The new taxis charge twice as much as the old ones, too.
From Mr John Turnbull
Abu Dhabi
Inconvenience
My car was in a workshop in Rashidiya due to a recent accident and I planned on picking it up at 7pm. I decided to use a public transport bus from Jebel Ali to Dubai. I left at 4pm and reached the Trade Centre roundabout at 5.30pm, then waited for more than an hour for a taxi. It was extremely late by then, and I had to walk back home.
From Mr Ajit Raj Vadakkumpatt
Dubai
Too many accidents
How many more deaths are necessary before the horrible driving situation in the UAE is corrected ("Family waits for miracle as father lies in coma", Gulf News, January 30)? We see at least two stories every day in the newspapers about the horrendous accidents that occur on the roads. The article about the young woman whose husband died recently, after lying in a coma for some days, highlights the large number of accidents.
From Ms Adaya Azure
Washington, USA
Learn from leaders
I appreciate Gulf News' efforts in reporting about the plight of tenants ("Garbage pile-up ploy used to get tenants out of flats", Gulf News, January 29). The cunning, underhand tricks of landlords have created greater suffering for tenants than the current inflation. Despite the many rules and regulations, which are in place to help alleviate the hardships of residents, a majority of landlords find ways to bypass the law and do as they like. Why don't landlords learn from the country's government that always upholds humanitarianism and is always ready to help those in need?
Mr Shafeeque Babu
Dubai
Help tenants
Just publishing articles highlighting the issues of tenants will not solve the problem. Everyone is aware of the burden these people suffer and the fact that inflation is hardest for those who live from hand to mouth. What steps have the authorities taken to help the situation? Shops and hypermarkets also pay heavy rents due to the shortage of rental properties, so it is difficult for them to reduce prices. Either they have to close their businesses or hike their prices.
From Ms Bharti
Dubai
Full name withheld by request
Leave the building
Logically, if the owner had requested tenants to vacate the building six months before cutting off the electricity supply, I think they should have done so as soon as possible. The notice was served well in advance! In some exceptional cases, the notice can be extended, but the building should have been vacated for the purpose of renovation.
From Mr Syed
Doha, Qatar
Website comment
Don't add trash
If the tenants just throw their rubbish onto the mounting heap of garbage, what do they expect? Perhaps if they did not keep adding to the heap and walked to the bins instead, they would not have a problem.
From Ms Natalia
Dubai
Website comment
Waste of money
Most people in the UAE register at driving institutes thinking they are professionals and will help learners acquire their licences. But those who do register themselves find these institutes to be moneymaking businesses that take students for a ride. A student that fails a test has to wait for 35 days to get his next mandatory class. He then has to wait for another 45 days to get his test date, thereby making mandatory classes a complete waste of time and money.
From Mr Kaushlesh
Dubai
Full name withheld by request
Children read too
I am a mother and I encourage my children to read the newspaper but, having been a loyal reader of Gulf News for more than 12 years, I have observed that the coverage given to some stories, particularly news on crime, has become sensationalised ("Life term for workers who molested and killed man", Gulf News, January 30). I find that some details given do not add much to the story, and if they were deleted, the readability of the story would not have been affected.
From Ms Kamel
Dubai
Name withheld by request
Astronomical rate
Broadband internet here in the UAE sometimes suffers from inconveniences such as cable damage, but what I find alarming is that telecom providers claim that all essential traffic is flowing well ("Damaged sea cable hits internet services", Gulf News, January 30). I would suppose this does not include internet banking, because I could not get my internet banking website to load at all. I have also noticed that the service providers charge astronomical rates for this ever-failing service, compared to their European counterparts, even though the standard of living there is more expensive.
From Mr Salman Hussain
Sharjah
No pretext
Although Ms Varyani's suggestion in her letter of asking hypermarkets to donate Dh1 million to charity every year is generous, it is not factual ("Short changed", Gulf News, January 31). Sometimes the customers owe them change and at other times the situation is reversed. At the end of the day, the change obtained by stores during transactions is negligent, or it usually settles the bill for some other day. It is not an excuse - a shortage of coins exists. Banks are not providing grocery stores and hypermarkets with enough coins, even though they require them.
From Mr Najum Al Deen
Ras Al Khaimah
Fact of life
I agree with Ms Varyani about hypermarkets and shopping malls not giving customers their exact change. It has happened to me several times and has become an annoying fact of life. Hypermarkets should have enough coins for all their customers. Customer satisfaction is more important than profit in business.
From A Reader
Dubai
Name withheld by request
Company transport
The traffic within Dubai and from Sharjah is getting worse every day. Most of the traffic is early in the morning and in the evening, as people head to work and back home. One way to reduce traffic is to make companies, especially those with a large number of employees, to introduce private transport for them. This will bring down the number of vehicles on the road, thereby reducing traffic congestion and saving motorists a lot of time. I request the concerned authorities to look into this suggestion.
From Mr Rajvansh Kaur
Sharjah
No choice
Residents of Sharjah have no choice but to keep paying as per the rent hike every year ("Tenants unhappy with Sharjah rent committee", Gulf News, January 27). When it is time for the lease to be renewed, it is indeed the worst time of the year. One is handed a rent hike notice from the landlord and asked to pay or leave.
No amount of reasoning with the manager (who happens to live in the same building) makes any difference because there are other people on the waiting list who are ready to move in at the same price or higher.
Any complaints made at the designated places are of no help, as they make matters worse. To top it all, flats are not easily available and are supposed to be booked in advance.
The only way to ease the situation is for the authorities to step in and make the rules mandatory to all. A decent rent-cap will be welcome news for all residents of Sharjah.
From Ms Arjumand
Sharjah
Full name withheld by request
Target parents
There are many ways in which a nation can be governed, and to paint them all with the broad brush of democracy may have the consequence of ignoring the country's history and culture, thereby imposing an alien administration upon society ("Not the only way to govern nations", Gulf News, January 26).
I read in a UK newspaper that education is about three people: the teacher, the pupil, and the parent. If the parent is disengaged from the process, so will the pupil, and the teacher then faces an almost impossible task.
From Ms Olga Ann
Pennsylvania, USA
Need for novelty
This vision is still very distant to the current situation in the country ("UAE is rebranding itself as focus shifts to green energy", Gulf News, January 29).
I was at the World Energy Summit but I observed that everyone is trying to use 'old' technologies and no one is looking for new opportunities.
Everything made for use in the UAE has to be proved functional by comparing it to usage in other countries! Where are the developments from our own resources?
From Mr J. Gasiecki
Ras Al Khaimah
BUSH ARRIVES
Standstill
The country came to a standstill because of President George W. Bush's visit ("US President Bush arrives in Dubai", Gulf News, January 14). I spent the whole day in my office with my wife and two-year-old baby after arriving in Dubai from India.
We had neither food nor water, and we could not reach our house in Bur Dubai because of the roadblocks. It was utterly ridiculous.
From Mr Stanley Castelino
Dubai
Lost hours
I appreciated the editorial letter addressed to George Bush ("Letter to George W. Bush", Gulf News, January 11). Having spent two hours in a traffic jam ostensibly because of security for the US President, I was shocked to hear that there would be an emergency public holiday in Dubai.
I can only hope that our friends in the US treasury department will pick up the tab for all the hours of lost work.
From Mr Jonathan Romans
Dubai
Not good news
Declaring a holiday for private and public sectors was not good news ("Monday declared holiday for private and public sectors in Dubai", Gulf News, January 13).
I hope the emergency services were not shut down and inconveniences were not caused to the public. It always seems that a common man suffers most when his needs are not met with, on a holiday that is given with insufficient notice.
A holiday declared in advance is welcome, but one announced last minute is not.
From Mr Milind Tikhe
Dubai
Take the day off
I do not understand why so many people were out on the roads when it was declared a holiday ("Monday declared holiday for private and public sectors in Dubai", Gulf News, January 13).
The government announced a holiday because they expected chaos on the roads. I think companies that did not give their staff the day off need to be blamed for all the stress and frustration that their employees went through.
From A Reader
Dubai
Name withheld by request
House arrest
In a country like UAE, where freedom is cherished and everyone works hard, it is extremely difficult to believe that President Bush's visit resulted in a virtual house arrest for all residents.
From Mr Shiva Shankar
Dubai
RAIN ARRIVES
Heed advice
I fear that if Dubai suffered a major disaster, our city administrators would not be able cope ("Agony continues as relentless rain floods the roads", Gulf News, January 15).
The recent rains have proven this. Why were workers being directed to pump water from one side of the road to the other, when both were flooded?
This is certainly not the logical solution to the problems of water logging. It is time for the authorities to take advice from people with experience, create strategies, and put them into effect as soon as possible.
From A Reader
Dubai
Name withheld by request
Why so unprepared?
My colleague spent all day in traffic because the road she took was closed ("Emirates Road closed from Dubai leading up to Sharjah", Gulf News, January 15). The commuters on Emirates Road were caged in their cars — some of them from early in the day until late in the evening, as they struggled to get home.
I cannot believe that the authorities were not prepared for this week, even though they knew that heavy downpours were on the forecast. The end result amounted to torture for the city's residents.
From A Reader
Sharjah
Name withheld by request
