Source : Gulf Today
The Day After Rains .........
Indian electrocuted while rescuing another
Sharjah - Jan 27: A STRAY live wire killed an Indian man who dared to rescue a stranger who was electrocuted.
In the tragic incident near Geeco roundabout in Sharjah Industrial Area at around 3:30pm Tuesday, another Indian identified as Mujeeb Rahman, 30, was screaming for help when he stepped into a puddle of water into which a snapped power line had fallen.
Hearing the screaming, Anil Kumar, 32, who was passing by in a taxi, rushed to help the man in distress, eyewitnesses said.
But Kumar who grabbed Rahman and pulled the man to safety himself slipped into the water and got electrocuted. He died instantly.
Rahman, who sustained severe burns, is now battling for his life at Kuwait Hospital.
A few Asian expatriates in the vicinity tried in vain to rescue Kumar, said a one of the rescuers who identified himself as Thomas. Others who braved the situation in trying to rescue the men were Mohan Das and Elias from Saba Radiators, a radiator dealer.
They pulled out the live wire from the puddle and prevented further catastrophe before calling an ambulance and rushing the victims to hospital. No comments were immediately available from Sharjah Water and Electricity Authority.
Rain lands grocery shoppers in troubled waters
SUPPLIES of perishable items like milk, bread and eggs to grocery shops and even some supermarkets have been affected following heavy downpour during the last few days.
The grocery shops and some supermarkets which are completely waterlogged, suffered the most as the supply vans could not offload these items.
Though supply chain was somewhat restored with the improvement in weather conditions on Wednesday still some grocery shops and even small supermarkets are feeling the pinch.
A grocery shop owner in Al Khan area said that his shop was facing some problems in getting supplies of milk and bread, rueing that number of customers has also come down.
He said that the real effect on the supply of these perishable commodities was not reflected in the given situations as even the number of customers of some grocery shops and supermarkets vans in the waterlogged areas has also come down.
"I was really shocked when I did not find milk bottles at my neighbourhood grocery shop", remarked Gracy Singh.
Leading chains of supermarkets, however, did not face any major problem as they had sufficient stocks.
Nandkumar of Emke group said that supermarkets and hyper markets under the group did not face any problem as it had sufficient stocks of various commodities.
He said that supplies of perishable items have been affected due to rain but it has been restored on Wednesday with the improvement in the weather conditions.
Retail sources in Dubai and Abu Dhabi said that companies which have their warehouses in Sharjah or Ajman did face problem as supply vans could not reach the destinations on time due to heavy traffic and water logging at different places.
A grocery shop owner said that his many customers returned disappointed as the shop was facing the problem of shortage of perishable items.
"We faced the worst situation on Tuesday but the situation improved later as the supply vans dropped sufficient perishable items on Wednesday", he added.
A representative of a medium sized chain of supermarkets said that supplies of perishable items suffered considerably.
Some roads were simply filled with water and hence supply vans could not move, making a considerable amount of impact on the supply side of perishable items, he added.
He said that not only supply of bread, milk and egg was affected but even supplies of fruits and vegetables from Al Aweer market in Dubai was hit due to heavy rains.
Falls, slips and trips
HOSPITALS are receiving more number of cases due to falls and slips following the downpour across the country.
Many hospitals in Dubai saw an increase in the number of patients injured due to slip, trip and fall cases, sources told The Gulf Today. Some of them sustained fractures.
Specialist Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Mahesh Vidhani in Jebel Ali Hospital said that many such cases were reported to the hospital in the past few days.
He said a 50-year-old man underwent surgery for a fracture on his collarbone that he sustained after a fall in his villa in The Greens. The British national had slipped from a ladder when he was trying to drain water from the roof.
A 74-year-old Dutch woman, who is on a visit to her son's house, also had to be operated on a fractured arm bone. In another incident, a 27-year-old Emirati man was admitted to Accident and Emergency Trauma Centre in Rashid Hospital after he sustained a spine fracture. A hospital source said the man had slipped from the roof while he was trying to check leaking of water.
Vidhani said the hospital also received many minor to moderate cases of falls. "People should not wear slippery or high-heeled footwear and outdoor sports and exercise activities should be restricted, especially in wet areas.
Parents should watch out for children playing the rain water. We had another case of a 13-year-old boy who fractured his left forearm after falling while playing in rain water," he added.
48 hours of nightmare
AROUND 1,500 road traffic accidents were reported in Dubai following heavy rains since Monday.
A senior officer with Dubai Police, who did not want to be named, told The Gulf Today that the total number of accident cases reported in 48 hours till Wednesday noon was 1,472. There were no deaths reported in Wednesday's accidents, though many victims sustained minor to moderate injuries.
Pointing out that most of the accidents took place since motorists ignored traffic rules to be obeyed during rainy conditions, he urged motorists to take extra caution while judging situations on the roads to avoid accidents.
"Many people drive in their usual way and don't take particular care about the rules to be obeyed during rainy conditions. Some are tensed while driving and lose their presence of mind," he said.
Advising residents not to travel unless it is necessary, the officer said motorists should keep their cool on the roads. "It is important to keep more distance between vehicles than usual. Less distance between vehicles caused a lot of collisions." He also highlighted the need for switching on headlights for better visibility during rainy days.
40,000 calls
Dubai Police's Operations Department received nearly 40,000 calls in 48 hours following the downpour in the emirate.
Director of the Command and Control Room at the department Colonel Omar Al Shamsi said the control room received 38,971 calls from the public till Wednesday noon. Most of the calls were complaints about waterlogged roads.
"It leads to heavy load on us when people call up for unimportant reasons. We tend to miss important calls, which need emergency response. I request the public not to call 999 if it is not an emergency case," he said.
Schools to reopen on Sunday
SCHOOLS in Dubai, Sharjah and other Northern Emirates will remain close on Thursday, due to the unstable weather conditions and ensure safety for students after the heavy downpour during the past few days.
The water logging on most of Dubai and Sharjah roads compelled school managements to make the decision, although initially they were trying to resume classes after one-day break.
Realising the scenario, the Ministry of Education also announced the closure of all public and private schools in the Northern Emirates.
Schools will resume classes on Sunday.
However, all government and private schools in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, including Al Ain and the Western Region, would remain open on Thursday.
New schedule
The Ministry of Education has decided to postpone the dates of the exams scheduled for students in the 12th grade, from all the streams.
The new timetable is as follows:
Sunday, Jan.20: Biology/Maths
Monday, Jan.21: Islamic Culture
Tuesday, Jan.22: Arabic Language
The ministry urged the departments of educational zones and schools to inform the students of the new exam schedule as soon as possible.