NEWS FROM THE U.A.E.
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Hacksaw blade was "accidentally left behind'
Dubai: 16 January 2006:An American family has vowed never to return to Ski Dubai after discovering a hacksaw blade on the slopes during a visit. The holiday-makers said they were "horrified" when they spotted the sharp, six-inch blade sticking up from out of the snow.
To make matters worse, it seems it is not the first time a blade has been found in the snow.
A 31-year-old IT specialist, who preferred to remain anonymous, claims he also came across a similar sized blade while he was snowboarding just last week.
The Vander family, who were visiting friends in the Meadows, say they were shocked after management failed to take any action after they were informed.
John Vander, manager of an asset management company in the US, said: "It is an absolute disgrace and my family and I will never visit the Ski Dubai again ? nor will we recommend it to our friends who plan to visit Dubai next month."
The Vander family had paid for a ski lesson for their five-year-old son Matty as part of his birthday present.
Horrified
Vander said: "Matty has already had a few lessons and knows the basics so we paid for one more lesson to give him a kick start. The instruction could not be faulted. But after his lesson, which had been conducted from the mid-station for most of the session, my wife, Karan and I, took Matty down once or twice ourselves.
"It was after a bit of tumble that I saw the blade sticking out of the snow just next to his arm.
"The blade may not have hurt Matty seriously but that is not the point. We are talking about an environment where people of all ages are falling over almost every moment. The slope should be scoured on a regular basis for anything dangerous. It would have only taken one person to fall head first onto the blade and they may have lost an eye.
"I was horrified. And the manager was just as bad. I was shocked to see he took one look at the blade, said ?it?s not that sharp? and put it in his pocket." Vander demanded the manager give him back the blade and said he wanted to keep it as proof ? which he did.
An IT specialist from Dubai said he too had a similar experience. He said: "I was snowboarding and I had a fall just near the bottom of the slope and saw a blade sticking up from the snow.
"I handed it to the ski patrol marshal who just put it in his pocket. He didn?t even say sorry. It has made me a bit more cautious when I?m snowboarding."
The Chief Executive of Ski Dubai, confirmed the incident to Gulf News and said the matter will be investigated.
Phil Taylor said: "The presence of any foreign objects in the snow is of serious concern to Ski Dubai and is deeply regrettable, especially something of the nature of a hacksaw blade.
"The matter will be investigated further but the areas where the blades were found suggest that the blades were accidentally left behind by external contractors who were carrying out localised works in these areas during snow making.
Checks
"Ski Dubai has in place extensive measures to protect the quality and cleanliness of the snow.
"These include daily grooming, daily visual inspections, permit-to-work controls and constant staff vigilance but the need for additional measures will be considered in the light of these reported incidents.
"I apologise to all involved that a member of my staff did not show the appropriate level of concern when the matter was brought to our attention.
"Ski Dubai strives to achieve the highest possible standards of customer service and safety and will be always disappointed when it does not achieve them."
GULF NEWS
Employers advised to go easy on late-comers due to bad weather
DUBAI — 16 January 2006: Brigadier Engineer Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Director of General Department of Traffic, Dubai Police, has called upon government departments and private companies not to take action against the employees if they are delayed due to the foggy or rainy conditions.
Driving their vehicles at high speed to reach their offices in time could cause harmful traffic accidents, he said and called upon the drivers to take care while driving during the periods of weather change as rains or clouds of dust result in low visibility.
He also noted that the high speeds during rain made the roads dangerous as the vehicles could slip and the drivers can lose control.
Brig. Al Zafin said that the vehicles which are driven at 60 kmph need to keep a 35-metre distance from other vehicles to be able to suddenly stop. And if the vehicle is driven at 120 kmph then a 140-metre distance requires to be maintained, he added.
He said that sometimes it is difficult for the drivers to keep enough distance and so it is safer for them to travel at low speed especially during the dust storms and rains as well as at night when low visibility conditions prevail.
"Sand piles by the roadsides and in tunnels as well as accumulated water near the roadsides which lack water drainage system also pose risk," he added.
He said that 5 per cent of the total traffic accidents took place during fog or during the sudden spells of rain compared to the few rainy days during the year.
Brig. Al Zafin called upon drivers to make sure that the window glass and vehicle lights are clean and the traffic signals are visible.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Labour ministry floats new forms
ABU DHABI — 16 January 2006: New application forms for finalising transactions including some special cases have been introduced by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to prevent mistakes.
According to Khalil Khouri, Director of Work Permits Department at the Ministry's office in Abu Dhabi, the new forms are designed in such a way that they anticipate the complexities of each case leaving the applicants with no excuse for complaint or protest.
Khouri said the new forms, both on paper and online, aim to facilitate company representatives to follow up their transactions without making mistakes while filling in the applications.
A company representative complained that information about the new forms has not been publicised yet. ''The employees of the ministry should know about these forms and inform us,'' he said, criticising the lack of cooperation from some employees in this regard. He also attributed this lack of information to the ignorance of some employees with the procedures of some transactions.
An engineer who approached the ministry to rectify the status of his worker, said the problem was not in the application forms but in the way of dealing and the ignorance of some employees regarding the procedures.
He said he was stunned when some officials told him that he had no option but to pay Dh5,000 penalty for the delay in rectifying the status of the worker. "I wondered how they could tell me to pay the amount as if I am a millionaire," he said.
He said he was late due to the casual holidays, and the worker was outside the country due to the tsunami disaster which had affected his country. Since the worker returned to the UAE without knowing some changes in his status as per the law, he was taken into custody by the immigration department, he said, adding that several days later, when he learnt about his status, the grace period was over.
The engineer said he could have simply terminated the services of his employee without helping him, and leave the immigration department to deport him, but that could not be the reward for a man who had sincerely been working for 10 years. When the employees at the ministry did not respond to him, and instead told him that the only way was to pay the fine, he had consulted an experienced representative, who explained to him the correct way of renewing the labour card of his employee without paying the fine. But when he approached the counter, he said, the ministry officers did not cooperate and he had no alternative but to finally pay the fine.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Traffic situation in Abu Dhabi to be discussed
ABU DHABI — 16 January 2006: The traffic situation and congestion in the capital will be in the spotlight today when the Municipalities and Public Utilities Committee at the National Consultative Council (NCC) holds two crucial meetings aimed at finding appropriate solutions in the immediate and long term, officials said yesterday.
The first meeting will be officials from the Department of Municipalities and Agriculture in Abu Dhabi, and the second with the Abu Dhabi General Police Headquarters.
“The committee will discuss the real causes of this problem, and whether or not demographic growth, construction works, the increase in the number of vehicles, or the centralisation of commercial, entertainment and service activities in downtown Abu Dhabi were the causes of traffic congestion and related problems,” said an official. Recently, the NCC said practical solutions are needed to solve the traffic congestion problems in Abu Dhabi.
The Committee of Civic Affairs and Public Affairs discussed the problem in its session in late December, and decided to hold meetings with municipal officials and traffic police to listen to their opinions on the matter. NCC member Ahmed bin Sultan Mattar Al Halami called for a reduction in the fee of parking facilities specified by the municipality. He said the high fee prevents people from using them.
NCC member Gaith bin Khadim Al Hameli said lack of coordination among officials had worsened the problem.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Drunk-driver crashes into packed restaurant
Dubai: 16 January 2006: A drunk-driver who crashed into a fish restaurant packed with diners after consuming an entire bottle of whiskey has been jailed for a month.
The 26-year-old Indian manager had initially driven into a post before crashing into the restaurant. Dubai police officers were in Deira when they spotted the car. It careered into a post before finally landing in the fish restaurant where customers were dining on grilled seafood.
The police patrol called the paramedics. The manager was pulled out from his car and taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He sustained a broken jaw and injuries to his leg. In his statement to police, he said he had drunk a whole bottle of whiskey alone in a bar at a hotel in Deira.
Damage to property
Sometime after midnight he left the hotel and was driving his car back home when he lost control. The car hit the pole and he finally ended up inside the restaurant, he told police. Court records revealed that nobody else was hurt.
The Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution department charged the manager with driving recklessly under the effect of alcohol and damaging public and private property.
The Dubai Court of Appeal sentenced him to a month in jail and seized his driver's licence for six months. The court also ordered him to pay damages for the pole and the damage caused to the restaurant.
The Dubai Court of First Instance had earlier fined him Dh5,000 and seized his licence. However, the Traffic Public Prosecution department appealed the ruling. The Appeal Court replaced the fine with the jail term and confirmed the seizure of the licence.
GULF NEWS