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NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

Man lands on visit visa only to perform father’s last rites

SHARJAH — APRIL 12: He has landed in the UAE on a valid visa, finally. His father always dreamt of bringing him to this country from his homeland.

But Ram Bali, an Indian, had to come to this country only to perform the last rites for his father  whose  body had been kept in the Kuwaiti Hospital morgue for the past three months.

Bali’s father, Ram Bachan,  who worked in Sharjah as a labourer, tried to bring his son to the UAE,  but all attempts to obtain a visa for him failed as he was duped by unscrupulous agents. And Bachan apparently just couldn’t bear the shock.

According to sources in Kuwaiti Hospital, Bachan, who reportedly went missing from his labour camp, was admitted to the hospital about three months ago by some good samaritans after he suffered a cardiac arrest. But he died the following day.

Bachan’s friends said he paid a huge amount of money to an agent to obtain a visa for his son. “Ram Bali came to the UAE, but on his arrival at the Dubai International Airport, immigration authorities sent him back home as he was carrying a fake visa,” said a friend.

“Bachan was very upset after this incident. He used to tell us that once his son comes here, he could return to India and spend the rest of his life with the family.”

The friend said a few days after the son was sent back to India from the Dubai airport, Bachan went missing from his labour camp.

CP Mathew of the Valley of Love (VOL) said the Kuwaiti Hospital informed the humanitarian organisation about an unclaimed body lying in the morgue.

“We searched for his whereabouts. When we failed to trace the family, we made a public appeal to identify the dead man. Finally, a grocery owner recognised Ram Bachan,” said Mathew, explaining how VOL contacted Bachan’s family in India and requested the sponsor of the deceased to bring his son on a visit visa to identify the body.

“The visa was issued by the sponsoring company and since then we waited for the son to arrive. He is now here to perform the last rites for his father in Dubai soon after completing all the necessary formalities,” said Mathew.


KHALEEJ TIMES

Daman unveils Emiratisation strategy

ABU DHABI — APRIL 12: The national health insurance company, Daman, has unveiled its Emiratisation strategy to raise its overall national workforce strength to more than 17 per cent by the end of this year.


Several emiratisation authorities, including the Emirates Nationals Development Programme (ENDP), will help the company to achieve its goal.

“The health insurance industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the UAE economy due to the mandatory health insurance law that was passed last year and we are aiming to attract more national youths to work in this sector,” said Dr Michael Bitzer, CEO of Daman.

Speaking at a Press conference yesterday in the capital, Dr Bitzer said his company has developed training programmes and courses that will help  new recruits enhance their careers in the insurance industry.

In Al Ain, the Emiratisation level exceeded 30 per cent while in the Al Bateen branch, it registered 17 per cent, he noted.


KHALEEJ TIMES

Littering on road to invite Dh5,000 fine


DUBAI — APRIL 12: The Dubai Municipality will soon be slapping heavy fines, that can go up to Dh5,000, on motorists who tend to drop litter on roads, officials have said.

They added that the civic body had come up with 31 violations that are usually committed by drivers of all kinds of vehicles while they are on the road.

The number of violations committed by motorists insofar as flouting public health and safety rules are concerned was 1,7722 in Dubai last year, officials said, adding that motorists paid a sum of  Dh5.7 million as fine and around 14,892 companies were issued warnings during the same period.

Ali Al Jaroodi, General Coordinator for Violations of Public Cleanliness at the Environment Section of the Dubai Municipality, said a team of 483 inspectors would be looking into these violations. “People, especially motorists, need to keep the city clean. Drivers who are caught littering can be fined anything between Dh100 and Dh5,000. The municipality has warned drivers against spitting and throwing cigarette butts  on the road. Those caught doing this would be fined Dh100. The fine can be doubled if they are found repeating their mistake,” he said.

Other serious offences include urinating in public places, companies dumping waste in just any place they choose to do so, throwing waste into sea water, creek or ports, Al Jaroodi said.

Spilling water in large quantities on the pretext of washing cars, letting water drip from air-conditioners in the open and clothes left to dry in balconies are also punishable offences, he added.


KHALEEJ TIMES

Littering on road to invite Dh5,000 fine


DUBAI — APRIL 12: The Dubai Municipality will soon be slapping heavy fines, that can go up to Dh5,000, on motorists who tend to drop litter on roads, officials have said.

They added that the civic body had come up with 31 violations that are usually committed by drivers of all kinds of vehicles while they are on the road.

The number of violations committed by motorists insofar as flouting public health and safety rules are concerned was 1,7722 in Dubai last year, officials said, adding that motorists paid a sum of  Dh5.7 million as fine and around 14,892 companies were issued warnings during the same period.

Ali Al Jaroodi, General Coordinator for Violations of Public Cleanliness at the Environment Section of the Dubai Municipality, said a team of 483 inspectors would be looking into these violations. “People, especially motorists, need to keep the city clean. Drivers who are caught littering can be fined anything between Dh100 and Dh5,000. The municipality has warned drivers against spitting and throwing cigarette butts  on the road. Those caught doing this would be fined Dh100. The fine can be doubled if they are found repeating their mistake,” he said.

Other serious offences include urinating in public places, companies dumping waste in just any place they choose to do so, throwing waste into sea water, creek or ports, Al Jaroodi said.

Spilling water in large quantities on the pretext of washing cars, letting water drip from air-conditioners in the open and clothes left to dry in balconies are also punishable offences, he added.

KHALEEJ TIMES

‘Barefoot’ punishment attracts stern warning


AL AIN — APRIL 12: A warning has been issued to the administration staff member of a government school who forced some students to walk on the premises barefoot during school hours, according to Engineer Nabil Salih Al Zahry, Director of the Al Ain Educational Zone (AAEZ).

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Engineer Al Dhahry said the students were punished because they were not wearing the kind of shoes specified by the school.

“If this sort of unjustified punishment is repeated, the AAEZ will send the case to the Department of Legal Affairs to take suitable action against the staff member.”

Blaming the staff member, the school administration said this kind of punishment is not acceptable to it.


KHALEEJ TIMES

More buses for Sharjah residents using Metro


DUBAI — APRIL 12: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) plans to encourage more Sharjah residents to use public buses so that they use Dubai Metro, slated to be launched on September 9, 2009, senior RTA officials announced yesterday.

At a high level meeting between officials of RTA and the Sharjah Planning and Survey Department yesterday, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and CEO of RTA said: “The authority is keen to increase the percentage of users of public buses by providing more buses, and improving the routes and existing services in all emirates, particularly Sharjah, from where a large number of individuals commute to Dubai daily.”

“The RTA aims to take the percentage of mass transport users to 30 per cent by 2020,” Al Tayer declared while speaking to Eng Salah Butti Obaid bin Butti, Director-General of Sharjah Planning and Survey Department and Member of the Sharjah Executive Council.

The meeting also explored cooperation between the two emirates with regard to road projects currently undertaken by RTA, the Dubai Metro project, and other transport projects.

Al Tayer said the users of Dubai Metro would be provided all facilities such as car parking at Al Qusais Metro Station with a capacity of 6,000 cars, in addition to another parking in Al Rashidiya Station for 3,000 cars.

“This is to encourage the public to use Metro in commuting within Dubai,” he noted.

Al Tayer also reviewed the Al Ittihad Road expansion project. “Implementation of the Dh800-million diversion works has already started and will be completed in 22 months. The project is expected to ease 58 per cent of the existing congestion on Al Ittihad Road,” he said.

He explained that the works extend up to 5.7km, starting from Shaikh Rashid Road and across Al Garhoud Bridge up to Al Sho’ala Junction, and then from Al Ittihad Road (beside Dubai International Airport) up to General HQ of Dubai Police Interchange (Galadari), and from there up to Al Nahda Interchange (Mulla Plaza).

The meeting also discussed the current expansion work undertaken by the RTA on Emirates Road. The project includes expansion of the the road from three to six lanes in each direction covering a length of 33 km, in addition to providing extra lanes on seven of the existing interchanges on Emirates Road.

The officials also discussed expansion of the Dubai Bypass Road from the border of Sharjah up to Dubai-Al Ain Road from two to five lanes in each direction.

“Works under this contract also include constructing a bridge that will provide a fully free traffic flow at the interchange of Dubai–Al Ain Road with the Bypass Road,” Al Tayer explained.

The meeting was attended by Eng. Maitha bin Adai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency and Eng. Nabeel Mohammed Saleh, Director of Roads Department, RTA, Eng. Naseer Mahfoudh, Head of the Roads and Transport Section in Sharjah Survey and Planning Department, and Mill Stewart, consultant engineer in the office of the Ruler of Sharjah.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Ittihad road expansion: Express and domestic roads coming up

DUBAI — APRIL 12: The expansion work of Al Ittihad Road includes development of two types of roads, express and domestic, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has said.

“Each project includes expansion of four lanes in each direction, in addition to a service road on both sides of Al Ittihad Road,” Al Tayer explained, adding: “More bridges and tunnels will be constructed while the existing tunnels will be left intact.”

Al Tayer said the project would also include development of the Airport Interchange by constructing a new tunnel of four lanes for the traffic from Al Garhoud Bridge towards Sharjah. The existing channels will remain intact but will only be rerouted so that they do not disrupt the traffic flow from Sharjah towards Al Garhoud Bridge.

“A new bridge of two lanes will be constructed to ease the traffic flow from Sharjah, Al Nahda and Mamzar areas towards Dubai International Airport. Another two-lane bridge will be constructed for traffic from Port Saeed and Al Garhoud areas towards the Clock Roundabout in Deira,” Al Tayer informed.

He also said that the Police Headquarters (Galadari) Interchange will have two new tunnels over and above the existing ones. “Another new two-lane bridge will be constructed for traffic from Abu Hail and Salah Uddin roads towards Sharjah. The remaining traffic flow will be controlled though traffic signals,” he added.

Al Tayer said the RTA would also construct a new tunnel consisting of three lanes at Al Nahda Interchange (Mulla Plaza) for traffic from Dubai towards Sharjah while maintaining the existing tunnel so that the total number of lanes from Dubai towards Sharjah will be six.

“A new tunnel of two lanes will be constructed to ease the traffic flow from Al Mamzar and Al Nahda areas towards Dubai. Besides, a new three-lane bridge to ease the traffic from Al Nahda Road towards Al Waheeda Road and Deira area will also come up,” he informed.

The official noted that the current traffic flow on Al Ittihad Road ranged between 200,000 and 250,000 vehicles per day in both directions.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Emirates Road to have four lanes on each side

DUBAI — APRIL 12: Eng. Salah Butti Obaid bin Butti, Director General of Planning and Survey Department, Sharjah, has said that Emirates Road will be expanded to four lanes in each direction within the borders of Sharjah.

“This is in addition to the construction of the Sharjah Ring Road parallel to Al Nahda Road and expansion projects on both Al Ittihad and King Faisal Roads,” he said.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Areeb buried; brother still fighting for his life

SHARJAH — APRIL 12: Areeb, the three-year-old Pakistani boy who died under tragic circumstances on Monday when his mother threw him down from their eighth floor apartment that was on fire, was buried in the Al Ghubaiba cemetery yesterday afternoon.

Areeb’s younger brother, two-year-old Harris, is still fighting for his life in Al Qasimi Hospital.

“I told my wife not to cry for him, but to see him off as we had received him — with joy,” said the father, Javed Iftekhar, trying desperately to hold back his tears. “Please pray for our younger son because he is our only hope,” he added.

Javed said they couldn’t take his son’s body to Pakistan as Harris was in a critical condition. “We cannot leave him here and take Areeb for burial. It is a tough decision, but it had to be taken,” he said.

He added that a panel of doctors is attending to Harris. “We have been told that he is still breathing with the help of a ventilator and unless he starts breathing on his own, they cannot start proper treatment,” said the father. “The next 12 hours are still critical.”.

The mother, Zebunissa, panicked when the fire broke out and threw her two children from the window of her apartment in a bid to save them.


KHALEEJ TIMES

DNA test report on Ajman blast readied

DUBAI — APRIL 12: The Dubai General Department of Forensic Laboratory is preparing a report about the results of DNA tests collected from the accident scene where two trucks carrying confiscated fire crackers exploded on Tuesday in Al Jarf area of Ajman and resulted in the death of two labourers and injuring two policemen.

Farida Al Shimali, Deputy Director of General Department of Forensic Science, had rushed to the  accident site and collected specimen from dead bodies and the personal belongings of the victims to conduct DNA tests. Also the experts have taken parts of the damaged trucks and the vehicles of Ajman Police for carrying out forensic tests..

Crisis and Disasters teams, rescue teams and sniffing dogs had rushed to the site and assisted the Ajman Police in the rescue operation.

The department has also referred the bodies of the victim to the General Department of Forensic Medicine.

Farida said that the Dubai Police would soon submit a report about the accident to the Ajman Police.


KHALEEJ TIMES

A metro ride made special 
 

RTA, in coordination with Ministry of Social Affairs, is making sure that Dubai Metro provides barrier-free access to differently-abled people


DUBAI- APRIL 12: For Abdul Hadi Al Daouk, 45, a computer engineer who has motoric disability, using the public transport has always been a hindrance because he feels that the transport services for special-needs people are lacking in more ways than one. But with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) incorporating special facilities for differently-abled people in the metro, he is hopeful things will change.

Daouk, a member of the special-needs group that gave their recommendations to the metro team at RTA, describes the facilities that are being incorporated for differently-abled people as a revolution.
For him the introduction of the comprehensive law (Federal law No. 29) that was passed last year for the integration of the people with special needs into the society has already begun showing results.
As part of this law, the Public Transport Department of RTA is working on new ideas, in coordination with the Roads Department, to develop a master plan that will ensure integration of special needs people in all modes of transportation.

And while the master plan is still on the cards, Dubai Metro, the first phase of which is scheduled to be completed in September 2009, has already followed benchmarks set by Hong Kong and Singapore to provide facilities for special needs people. Daouk says, “The integration process was long overdue and I am glad it is finally taking place. Until I bought myself a car and hired a driver, getting to work was the toughest task of the day. I feel the metro is the first significant step taken to address the transportation needs of differently-abled people. I am sure that it will truly change the way we travel.”
The RTA says that it has developed a ‘Barrier Free Access System’ to make the Dubai Metro accessible to all regardless of physical impairment.

As per the international standards, the metro will have facilities that include Braille and tactile markings; Tactile Guidance Path (TGP) that will assist the visually-impaired from the entrance to the trains, wide fare gates and ramps.Abdulredha Abu Hassan, Director of Planning and Design, Rail Agency, RTA says, “We have followed international standards as well as taken into consideration recommendations made by the group of special-needs people and the Ministry of Social Affairs.”

NEED for awareness campaigns

One of the main recommendations made by the special-needs people was to create awareness campaigns before the launch of the metro. Daouk says, “Awareness campaigns are necessary for both special-needs people as well as others. For people with special needs, it is crucial because they need to be mentally and emotionally prepared to use this service. For others, it is important to know how to deal will the integration of special-needs people because for the first time they will travel alongside other special-needs people.” He adds, “I have noticed that even though many people respect parking spaces reserved for the handicapped, there are still those who park in spaces marked for the handicapped. I did not choose to be privileged but the fact of the matter is that I am. Therefore, I feel awareness campaigns should be for everybody. After all it has to be a two-way street.”

Mohammed Esssa Rowaished, Deputy Director of Planning and Design, Rail Agency, RTA, says, “We will have sufficient awareness drives before the launch of the metro. In addition, customer service staff at the stations will be trained to cater to the needs of differently-abled people. It will indeed be a barrier-free access system.” To ensure that the metro is equipped with all the facilities for special-needs people, the Ministry of Social Affairs and special-needs people also recommended that there should be chargers for electronic wheelchairs, which is a new development.

Wafa Hamad bin Sulaiman, Director of the Department for People with Special Needs at the Social Affairs Ministry, says, “We have made many recommendations to RTA and we are glad they have taken them into consideration. We feel that the metro will mark a new beginning in the way special-needs people travel.”

EVENING POST

Dubai - My life’s in tatters

Dubai - APRIL 12: A British expat is facing a civil court case and huge fine after a friend took his hire car without permission and drove it while drunk. Hotel worker Mark Glass, from Worcestershire, England, faces a fine of more than dhs30,000 and has not seen his family for nine months, after a man he had met on arrival in Dubai last April, crashed his car following a night out.

Glass says he and the Indian expat were shopping in Karama on the afternoon of May 16 last year before deciding to stop off at Rock Bottom Café for food and drinks.  The former F&B director had planned to leave the car at Rock Bottom for the night, but gave his keys to the friend so he could remove his goods from the boot of his car.
Mark said: “I warned him not to drive it and asked him to leave the keys with the concierge so I could collect them in the morning.” However, at 4am Mark, asleep with his wife and two young daughters, received a call to say the car had been crashed. The friend was later charged and jailed for drink-driving and Mark believed, having issued a report of the incident to Diamond Lease, the rental company, the matter had been resolved.

But two weeks later he received a call from Dubai Courts informing him of a pending civil case brought against him for the cost of the damaged car, by the company. Mark has since lost his job, his wife and children have had to return to the UK and he is currently sleeping on the floor of his friend’s apartment.
He said: “My life has been turned upside down, I missed Christmas with my daughters, aged two and three, and my marriage is suffering under the strain. I can’t afford the cost of damages and no-one at home is able to help me.” A spokesperson for Diamond Lease told 7DAYS that as Mark never reported the car stolen, he was liable for it at the time of the accident. Insurance coverage would not cover the cost because the driver had been drinking alcohol.

SEVEN DAYS

  

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