NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

DNRD to update sponsors by SMS

DUBAI — AUG 28: The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) will soon launch an SMS service that will inform all sponsors about the departure from and entry into the country of all those who are on their sponsorship.

This was announced by DNRD's Assistant Director of IT Affairs Major Khaled Nasser Al Razouqi.

"DNRD will be launching new SMS services this week. One aims at reminding the residents about renewing their residence visa and another service would allow the sponsor to be aware of the entry and departure of the people under his sponsorship," said Major Al Razouqi.

He further said, "DNRD has always been trying to provide its customers with the best quality services. The DNRD's SMS services are various and aim at a smooth communication with the customers. However these services are not new."

"In the end of July last year, we had launched the Renew service. Through this service a text message is sent to the nationals six months before the passport's expiry date to remind them of the need to renew their passports. It is sent once again one month before the passport's expiry as another reminder," he added.

KHALEEJ TIMES

An Indian amnesty-seeker who was struggling for the past two months to obtain an outpas

ABU DHABI — AUG 28: s is extremely happy after receiving one from the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi and is expected to return home next week.

Laxmi Narayanan, 34, who hails from the southern Indian state of Kerala stayed in the UAE illegally for two years as he came on a visit visa after paying Rs 80,000 (Dh7,000) to a recruiting agent back home.

On reaching here, he managed to get a job in a construction company in Dubai at a monthly salary of Dh500 with the assurance of the company applying for his visa before the expiry of his visit visa. "When my visa was about to expire, I told the manager at the site to arrange for my employment visa. He then extended my visit visa for a month, without charging me anything extra. However, after the end of the extension period, the manager at the site declined to apply for a work visa. Thus I became illegal," narrates Narayanan.

"I just wanted to stay here for a few months to collect some money and then return home. But that did not happen, and two years passed by," he adds.

He said that he was impatiently waiting to return to India. Narayanan, a father of two, is now happy to be going back under the amnesty programme. But he does not have any plan to come back. "I will manage some work back home or begin my own small business," he says.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Dubai - Confusion getting to airport

Dubai - Aug 28: Motorists yesterday complained of confusion on Al Garhoud Bridge after new diversions were introduced by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The three-lane bridge is now split into two by bollards with one heading to Al Ittihad Road while the other leads towards Deira. Bridge users complained that they were not aware of the new diversion.
"I was dropping my business partner at the airport last night when I realised I couldn't get onto the exit road. If there was a warning we didn’t see it. It was insane and we didn't have much time to spare,” said one irate motorist.  The RTA warned drivers to observe traffic boards carefully before taking the bridge. A spokesman said that the changes had been made to help ease traffic congestion and traffic flow in the area.

SEVEN DAYS

Schools add to traffic woes

 
Dubai - Aug 28: Motorists in Dubai and Sharjah are reporting an increase in traffic jams following the start of the new school year.  The problem is particularly bad during the morning peak hours, they say.

The launch of the Salik road toll system in July has made no difference to school buses as they are exempt from the charge. But many school routes do not pass through the Salik zone – and the return of the large buses after the summer vacation has added to pressure on other roads.

Now the Roads and Transport Authority is urging some schools to insist all students travel on school buses.

An official told Emirates Today: “Some institutions are asking parents to send their children on the bus rather than drive them themselves as the resulting reduction in car trips would lessen congestion during peak hours.” This solution would have a positive impact on commuters who avoid the tollgates and are finding the added traffic caused by parents on the roads a problem.

Engineer Alex Ramirez, 33, who commutes from Sharjah to Dubai every morning, said he had experienced unusual delays on Al Ittihad road since Sunday, when government run schools reopened their doors after summer vacation.

“Until Sunday it took me an hour to get to my office, but now it is about 20 minutes more,” he said.

Another motorist, Noushad Anwar, 38, said his daily morning trip from Deira to Satwa where he works was taking longer.

And most motorists who spoke to Emirates Today said they expected traffic holdups to increase further when pri vate schools in Dubai and Sharjah welcomed back students next week.

Private schools account for 40 per cent of the student population in the UAE.

Sara Hill, 28, a resident of Bur Dubai who commutes to Jebel Ali, said: “The situation is likely to get worse when the private schools open.” Drivers were already facing delays because of new diversions in Dubai and Sharjah – and again it is feared these will become worse when the school year gets into full swing next month.

Hill said: “The alternative routes and the newly opened floating bridge are facing huge traffic pressure.” She urged the Roads and Transport Authority to go ahead at the earliest possible time with proposed plans to introduce bus lanes that could be used by school vehicles in order to ease traffic congestion.

EMIRATES TODAY

Deira gets new multi-storey car parking facility

DUBAI — AUG 28: A multi-storey car parking facility has been built by the Dubai Municipality in Al Sabkha area in a bid to solve the problem of shortage of parking lots in the busy central business district (CBD) of Deira.

Built at a cost of Dh34 million, the new facility includes 445 parking spaces, 13 shops and 15 stores, Abdullah Ahmed Al Najjar, Deputy Director of General Projects Department at the municipality, said yesterday.

"Al Sabkha is one of the busiest areas in the Deira CBD. Parking has always been a problem in this area and the new project would contribute to its solution. Besides, the availability of such a vast parking area will also help reduce traffic congestion," said Al Najjar.

The three-storey parking complex covers a total area of 20,000 square metres. "The entire basement, which is dedicated for long-term parking users, consists of 104 parking spaces and five stores. The ground floor, most of which has been dedicated for commercial shops and public utilities has only 31 parking spaces."

"It has 13 shops with a total area of 4157 square meters. The first floor has 88 parking spaces and three stores while the second floor has 106 parking spaces and four stores. The shaded roof-top has a total of 116 parking spaces and three stores," said Al Najjar.

He added that parking spaces in the three upper stories will be devoted to short-term users. Dubai's busy business districts in Deira and Bur Dubai already have six multi-storey car parking complexes. They are located in Riqqat Al Butine (behind Al Khaleej Hotel), Bani Yas area (near Deira Tower), Bani Yas Square (near Florida Hotel), Bani Yas Street (near Dubai Municipality Museum), Naif Street (opposite Naif Police Station) and Al Ghubaiba (near the Ministry of Finance building).

KHALEEJ TIMES

Jebel Ali Port Blaze

DUBAI - AUG 28: A major disaster was averted yesterday when a blaze at a hazardous chemicals depot in Dubai was brought under control by firefighters.

The inferno at the Chemstore facility at Jebel Ali Port triggered explosions and sent plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the night sky.

But swift action by emergency services prevented the flames spreading to three other chemical warehouses nearby. Any escalation of the fire could have ended in an environmental catastrophe.

A senior civil defence official said no one was injured. And safety chiefs from Dubai World – which runs the Jebel Ali Free Zone where the fire happened said the effect on the environment was minimal and there was no cause for alarm.

Work at two nearby container ports and the cargo port was halted and staff were evacuated. But all three reopened in the afternoon after tests found no harmful substances. The blaze start ed at 3.57am and firefighters raced to the scene from across the city.

Dubai World’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) authority responded within five minutes, sending eight vehicles and 50 firefighters. Four vehicles from Dubai Civil Defence joined them, which is close to Terminals One and Two and the general cargo areas.

Firefighters brought the flames under control by 7.15am – although smoke continued to pour from the site late into the day. “Our firefighting units took con trol of the situation and were able to contain the fire within the Chemstore premises,” said EHS Chief Executive Ahmed Abdul Hussain.

Nutankumar Manvatkar, Fire and Rescue VicePresident of EHS, said: “Given the rapid spread of the fire our main objective was to secure the safety of the adjacent facilities by keeping the flames contained within the Chemstore premises. We did, then waited for the fire to burn itself out.” The Chemstore warehouse had a capacity of 41,000 drums of flammable, corrosive and toxic chemicals. A company spokesman said the warehouse contained more than 100 different products but refused to name them.

“The chemical list is commercially sensitive,” he explained.

However, Emirates Today has learned the facility was capable of storing gasolines, toluene, lacquers, lacquerthinner, xylene, paints, solvents among others

EMIRATES TODAY