NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
Quality of life improves as traffic eases
DUBAI - MARCH 19: Almost a month after the removal of construction barriers on Al Ittihad Road, users of the infamously congested motorway say their commutes have noticeably improved. They say they are far less stressed and that there are fewer fender benders and incidents of road rage.
The first phase of a Roads and Transport Authority project that contributed to hours-long traffic queues on the road that connects Dubai to Sharjah is nearing completion.
The Al Ittihad Road Improvement Project, which has widened roads and erected massive flyovers to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who commute between the emirates, began in 2007 and was projected to cost Dh830 million (US$226m).
“Really, I can’t begin to tell you how much my life has improved now that there is no more tension,” said Salahhudin Arif, 38, an Iraqi physician who has commuted from Sharjah to his office in Deira for the past three-and-a-half years. “I used to feel so stressed out, so terrible, when the traffic was bad.”
Dr Arif is one of many drivers who have been taking circuitous alternative routes to avoid the road, instead going through Al Qusais Industrial Area.
The removal of the barriers has had a knock-on effect on the side roads and there is even less traffic on Dr Arif’s complicated route. He said his drive had been shortened to 30 minutes from over an hour.
“All my friends have been talking about the difference,” he said. “We’re definitely feeling it where I drive. Now I’m considering even trying Al Ittihad.”
Poonam Bhoir, a 28-year-old Indian who commutes to her job at Amlak Finance near the 5th Interchange, said the situation had led to verbal, and even physical, fights: “They’d hit each other, scream abusive language from their cars. Now it’s quite a bit more relaxed.”
She has also found that she now has more time in the morning. “I used to have to get up early and leave the house by 5.30 or 6am. Now I can leave at 7am. I spend most of my extra time, well, I guess, sleeping.”
Sunil Kumar, 33, an Indian who has commuted from Sharjah to his job as a customer service representative at a Dubai bank for the past five years, agreed there were now fender-benders that led to fights. He recalled one incident six months ago when a woman blocked traffic by parking her car in the middle of the road and physically attacked a male pedestrian.
“The police literally had to break them up. I definitely feel like the stress has been lifted from my back, from all of ours.”
However, Mr Kumar said he suspected the easing of the traffic situation was actually due more to the worsening economic climate and the large numbers of residents who have left the country.
Zameer Punjabi, 33, an Indian who works at Al Fardan Exchange, said he saw little, if any, difference in his commute. But that, he said, was not because the construction project did not succeed in improving the roadway, but because of bad drivers and the inability of police to keep order.
“Maybe for a few days after it opened up it got better, but it still takes an hour and a half,” said Mr Punjabi, who has made the daily drive to Bur Dubai for more than six years.
“Look, when three lanes are opened, people use them like they’re six,” Mr Punjabi said. “Drivers do all they can to squeeze in front of you. They cut you off, they find any advantage to get around you. And because of it, an area that is less than a kilometre away can take 45 minutes to get to.”
Amnesty, Khalifa settles the debts
ABU DHABI - MARCH 19: A total of 329 inmates who were jailed for unpaid debts are being released from Abu Dhabi’s prisons according to a decree by Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE.
In his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa announced he would pay the outstanding amount owed of Dh3 million (US$817,000).
“This is a great joy for the families of the inmates and we can only hope they appreciate the generosity of Sheikh Khalifa,” said Brig Yousef al Ahmed, the manager of corrections and prison administration.
Asked if there was a specific occasion to mark the release of the inmates, Brig al Ahmed said there was not.
“All of these inmates are there for financial reasons and their release does not pose any threat to the society,” Brig al Ahmed said. “We hope they can take advantage of this new beginning and start a new chapter of their lives.”
Because they were jailed for indebtedness, the inmates are not likely to face deportation, which is normally reserved for people who commit crimes under the country’s penal code – drugs, murder, forgery or theft.
Amnesties are often granted during the month of Ramadan. Sheikh Khalifa ordered 700 prisoners to be freed in September ahead of Ramadan.
Five-year-old boy trapped in flat fire
DUBAI - MARCH 19: Firemen yesterday rescued a five-year-old boy locked in a burning apartment after his parents had left him on his own.
Emergency crews had to break down the front door of the third floor flat in Al Hamriya to reach the child.
A senior official from Dubai Civil Defence warned that leaving young children alone at home was extremely dangerous and “irresponsible”.
The child was not injured.
The same fire crew had just rescued a mother and her daughter trapped by smoke and heat from a blaze on the seventh floor of an apartment block in al Qusais. They had to be rescued through a bedroom window.
Gen Fras Belhasa, the head of Al Hamriya section of Dubai Civil Defence, said: “Leaving children alone in apartments and locking them up for hours while working or shopping poses not just a threat to their children’s lives but those in the building.
“We must be more careful of those families who do that and encourage them not to be irresponsible for the safety of their children.
“The cause of the fire was due to highly flammable material catching fire and the boy couldn’t escape because the parents locked the door and the balcony on him.”
He said the family – who lost their possessions in the fire – would be cautioned by the police.
Both fires occurred within an hour of each other. Gen Belhasa said the first fire – in which the mother and daughter both suffered from inhaling smoke – had been caused by structural alterations to the building which had not been approved by the authorities.
Such modifications were not only a common cause of fires but also made rescue efforts more difficult, he said.
“The lack of walkways in the first case meant the smoke got worse leading to severe injuries to those who were trapped and we had to put on our masks.
“The changes in the structural design procedure of the apartments and residential buildings without a permit from the municipality and civil defence are causing a continual headache for firefighting crews,” said Gen Belhasa, adding that the building did not meet health and safety requirements.
Dubai links school fee increases to quality
DUBAI - MARCH 19: Fee increases for Dubai private schools will be pegged directly to performance under rules announced by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
The new rules are a major departure from the previous system which limited annual fee increases to eight per cent.
Schools that receive “outstanding” scores will be allowed to increase fees by as much as 15 per cent next year, while schools that perform poorly will be allowed a maximum increase of seven per cent.
The decision will affect pupils at 144 private schools, or 85 per cent of Dubai’s school-age population.
In a statement issued yesterday by the KHDA, Jameela al Muhairi, the chief of the Dubai school inspection bureau, said most schools that had already been inspected had been categorised as acceptable or good.
The bureau has completed 140 of 189 inspections, including state schools, and the KHDA projects that it will finish most of the remaining inspections by the third week in April.
Performance inspections will evaluate seven areas: overall school performance, attainment, students’ progress, personal and social development, teaching and learning, curriculum and school leadership.
Fee increases will be set based on where schools rank on the inspection scale.
“Good” schools will be allowed up to a 12 per cent increase; “acceptable” schools by up to nine per cent; and “unsatisfactory schools” by up to seven per cent. Operational costs will also factor into the equation.
Since the KHDA took over regulating school fees in Dubai from the Ministry of Education two years ago, schools had been allowed a maximum increase of 16 per cent over two years.
Exceptions were made for non-profit schools and schools facing special circumstances such as forced relocation. Some internationally accredited schools were allowed to raise fees by more than 16 per cent, case by case.
An exception has been made for Indian, Pakistani and a handful of Iranian schools.
Because the school year in Indian and Pakistani schools starts in April, they will follow the Ministry of Education’s fee structure for the next year, which allows a 5 to 10 per cent increase.
Fee increases in Indian, Pakistani and Iranian schools will be pegged to performance during the 2010-11 academic year.
Clive Pierrepont, director of communications for Taaleem, which owns six schools in Dubai, said the company was pleased with the new structure.
“We appreciate that the KHDA has put a lot of thought into their decision about fee increases,” he said.
“We have found the dialogue created during the KHDA inspections very useful to our schools and the Taaleem organisation.”
Dipen Mehta, whose son attends Dubai Modern High School, said he supports the new rules.
“It’s a good idea provided that the ranking system is quantitative.” But he added that schools deemed unsatisfactory should not be allowed to increase fees at all.
“They should be given a time frame to shape up and then if they are up to the mark of satisfaction then they should be able to raise fees.
“It is like rewarding an unsatisfactory employee with a seven per cent raise rather than giving him a warning to shape up.”
In advance of announcing the new rules, the KHDA conducted a study that found that 50 per cent of Dubai parents spend six to 15 per cent of their income on education and 30 per cent spend more than 15 per cent.
The KHDA found that on average Dubai families spend Dh2,711 a month on education and, of those surveyed, 25 per cent said their children attend quality schools.
About 57 per cent of those surveyed said they thought that if KHDA was not involved in regulating school fees, schools would increase tuition without raising standards.
Doctors deny error in brain operation
DUBAI - MARCH 19:The Neuro Spinal Hospital has defended itself against public accusations that its doctors should not have removed a piece of a woman’s skull during a brain operation.
The family of Maitha al Baloushi, 24, complained to a Dubai-based, Arabic radio station this week that surgeons were wrong to conduct the procedure. They have since transferred Ms al Baloushi to a hospital in Germany.
The hospital has denied any wrongdoing. It noted that the family has not filed a complaint with health authorities and instead chosen to “try and publicly damage” the hospital by contacting the media and said it would co-operate with any official investigation.
The hospital’s medical director, Dr Abdul Karim Msaddi, who is also a neurosurgeon, said Ms al Baloushi originally suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by a ruptured cerebral aneurysm.
This causes bleeding into the brain or the space between the brain and the skull. The resulting subarachnoid haemorrhage can lead to a stroke, brain damage or death if left untreated.
Dr Msaddi said doctors performed an endovascular coiling technique but there were complications.
Pressure built up in Ms al Beloushi’s brain so doctors then performed a decompressive craniotomy, which involves removing a section of the skull to allow the pressure to escape. The piece of bone was replaced but was slightly misshapen, which is common, according to the hospital.
Dr Msaddi said the surgeons did “everything that was required of them” during the operation and that there were often complications with such serious procedures.
“We disagree completely that we have done anything wrong. We were treating the patient for very serious brain pathology. She had several aneurysms and ruptures in her brain and needed serious treatment.
“We explained all of the risks and complications to her family, who agreed to the treatment.”
Her family transferred her to a hospital in Hamburg, Germany, before doctors could fit an acrylic replacement, Dr Msaddi added.
Ms al Baloushi had already been treated at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain and Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Dubai. She was transferred to Germany in January after spending almost five months at the Neuro Spinal Hospital.
“The same way the Government has put in place committees and laws to protect patients, there should be a system that protects hospitals from such attacks [from the family], and no accusation should be made public unless proved to be correct,” added Dana Msaddi, the hospital’s admissions manager.
Dr Ramadan Ibrahim Mohamed, head of the Clinical Governance Office at the Department of Health and Medical Services, said the authority has requested Ms al Baloushi’s file from the hospital.
He said the family have not made an official complaint against the hospital but a meeting with them would be arranged.
He said: “We need all the details before we can do anything. We also need to meet the family and speak to the hospital in Germany to find out the patient’s condition.”
Dr Mohamed said the department would set up a committee of experts to investigate. “They will speak to the doctor and look at the case, and also talk to the patient’s family to see what, if anything, went wrong.”