March 18, 2008

Decent dressing makes a difference
A recent Gulf News article on sartorial revelations was a great read. I agree that flashing skin in a work environment never earns women any respect.

Moreover, wearing skimpy and revealing dresses in public should not be acceptable in any civilised society.

In this regard, I have deep respect for the Arab culture, which makes a difference with its well-covered dress code for both men and women.

I hope the rest of the world will follow it while maintaining the identity of their culture.
From Ms Sucharitra Jena
Al Ain

Save our planet
Our planet has been at stake for the past several years. One recent study states that global temperature is likely to shoot up to two to three degrees Celsius by 2040.

As a result, the sea level will rise, eating into the land. On the other hand, some rivers in the world are failing to reach their estuaries due to indiscriminate deforestation especially in tropical countries.

It is high time we stopped the rhetoric and did something fruitful on a war footing to save our home.
From Mr Rajgopal P. R.
Sharjah

A world without people
The whole world is busy protecting their countries rather than the planet. This by way of stockpiling the most sophisticated weapons that can perish generations and destroy our planet.

Are we trying to save our countries at the cost of our own planet and irreplaceable lives of other people? If so, then one day we might have just that - countries without people.
From Mr Alfred J. Rebello
Sharjah

Service providers don't care
Having recently moved from one flat to another, I've experienced the worst in customer service. It took 16 visits to the telecom company to get my landline moved, exactly one month after promised.

A newspaper took six calls and swore I was not a subscriber. The water company required four phone calls to change my delivery.

The developer sent plumbers out nine times to repair my incorrectly installed plumbing. We should all demand more from service providers, as they simply do not care.
From Mr Jeffrey R. Mallory
Dubai

Stained taxi seats
After spending six wonderful weeks in the beautiful emirate of Dubai, the only thing I was disappointed with was the lack of a proper transport service, especially taxis.

There were some that were filthy with badly stained seats.
From A Reader
UK
Name withheld by request

Fuel for thought
If Adnoc were to reduce the number of petrol attendants, due to the new self-service system, they would be saving a huge amount of money on labour charges.

Would these savings be passed on to the consumer? Or would it simply be the big company increasing their profitability?

Personally I don't mind either way, the amount of times I have helped myself, because the attendants were busy elsewhere, makes no difference.

I think however due to cultural differences, it may well be an issue for women to fill their own cars.
From Mr Brian Ridley
Abu Dhabi

Unfair for some
The Indian Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is currently conducting examinations for all its pupils across the globe.

As a parent, I happened to notice that pupils are given at least three different question papers for the same subject and questions vary from one set to another.

Needless to say, some are easy and others difficult. This is most unfair, since many institutions use the percentage of marks as the criteria for admissions.

If this were being done to prevent pupils from cheating during exams, I would call for increased invigilation.

I request the authorities to kindly intervene and take positive steps to stop this unfair practice.
From Mr Raj Paul K.
Sharjah

Road discipline
Having lived in Dubai for 11 years, I can say that residents have absolutely no traffic sense or patience. No amount of rules or regulations will resolve this unless people try to be sensible.

In the place I live when trams come to a halt on the road, when the stop sign is on, the incoming traffic stops till the sign is switched off.

I haven't seen anybody drive on when the sign is on. Traffic is quite bad during peak hours, but people are patient.

People need to wake up - don't blame anybody except yourself.
From Mr Srikanth Krishnamurthy
Australia

Undue delays
Some people who have purchased properties are facing problems with processing of their residency visas due to bureaucracy.

At the moment delays of up to one month are being talked about before it is decided who will issue the visas that were promised to buyers at the time of purchasing the properties.

This is a great inconvenience to those people who are trying to make Dubai their new home.
From A Reader
Dubai
Name withheld by request

No parks for families
In some emirates such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah there are few parks for families to go and enjoy their time. But what about Ajman?

Though there has been huge progress in certain areas of the emirate, the Ajman municipality has totally ignored this issue.

There are hardly any parks or recreational facilities for families to spend their time.
From Mr Mohammad Abdullah
Dubai

Soaring rents
I'm a working woman and an Abu Dhabi resident. I would like to draw attention to the ever-increasing house rents.

It is now impossible to find a suitable house in Abu Dhabi. Because of this I am forced to shift to Mussafah.
From Ms Payal Thakur
Abu Dhabi