NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Two dead, 26 hurt as scaffolding collapses
DUBAI — JUN 14: Two Indian construction workers reportedly fell to their death and 26 were injured when the scaffolding at a construction site in Al Quoz collapsed yesterday afternoon, hospital sources and eyewitnesses said.
All the workers belong to Ginco Contracting Company. One of the deceased was identified as Kalyan Ram while the identity of another was not immediately known. However, Dubai Civil Defence officials confirmed one death only. All the injured were shifted to Rashid Hospital for treatment.
Rajan Balakrishnan, who was working at a nearby site, told Khaleej Times that the top level of the scaffolding on the 7th floor of the building caved in, resulting in the tragedy.
“Most of the workers were trapped under the wooden planks. However, labourers in the vicinity rushed to the spot and tried to help.”
“Two of the workers died on the spot. Police shifted the rest in an ambulance to the hospital,” he added.
According to sources in Rashid Hospital, 28 workers were taken to the hospital, including the two who had died. “Six were severely injured, of which one was critical,” said a source, adding the remaining were discharged after being treated for minor injuries.
According to Civil Defence officials, “Around 12.15pm, we received information about the accident. Within a few minutes, firefighters from Al Quoz Civil Defence and rescue teams of Dubai Police rushed to the site.”
“The body of the labourer who died was transferred to the General Department of Forensic Science while Dubai Police has started investigation into the accident,” said a Civil Defence source.
Meanwhile, Mahmood Badarin, administration manager in Ginco, claimed all safety measures at the construction site were in place when the accident occurred.
“We appreciate the efforts of police and Civil Defence. The injured workers as well as the deceased’s family will be compensated as the company provides full insurance coverage to all workers,” he said.
The workers discharged from hospital were transported to company accommodation last evening.
FALL FROM ABOVE
DUBAI — Narrating his experience, Mani, a worker, said he could not believe that he survived the scaffolding collapse. “I was on the fifth level while workers from the levels above fell on me. We all fell together and I lost consciousness. I regained my senses in the hospital,” he said. “It all happened within seconds. I have been treated for minor injuries and discharged. I am sad to hear about the death of two of my colleagues,” he added.
Another survivor, Ram Kumar, said: “All of a sudden I heard a loud noise and found other workers falling on me. I don’t remember anything else.”
KHALEEJ TIMES
Ministry warns against proselytizing activity
ABU DHABI — JUN 14: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has warned that any school that allows any proselytizing activity on its campus would be immediately closed down, as any attempt to convert students or persons from one set of religious beliefs to another is illegal in the UAE.
An informed MoE source told Khaleej Times, any such activity is specifically forbidden by law. The ministry’s warning came yesterday in the wake of the dismissal of a female teacher at the Abu Dhabi Indian School on Monday, primarily in this connection.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the board of governors of the Abu Dhabi Indian School, Dr B.R. Shetty, has appealed to all primary and senior secondary school teachers to obey the law of the country and refrain from any such activity. He also told Khaleej Times, “Any talk that aims to denigrate the religious sentiments and beliefs of others would not be tolerated on the school campus. And if any one is found guilty of this, stringent administrative action will be taken.”
Shetty said, “I have also sent messages to various Indian community leaders to ensure that educational centres and cultural establishments are not used for any such illegal purpose.”
According to the Principal of the Abu Dhabi Indian School, V.K. Mathu, “anybody found involved in any such activity in future would meet the same fate”.
Meanwhile, many parents whose children study in the Abu Dhabi Indian School have welcomed the management’s decision.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Green light for ambulances to change signal to save lives
DUBAI - JUN 14: Ambulances in Dubai will soon be equipped with a device that allows them to change a traffic light to green in order to take patients to hospital faster.
Lieutenant Khalifa bin Drai, CEO of the Unified Emergency Centre, told Emirates Today that ambulance drivers would be authorised to use the device only for serious emergency cases.
He said that the project of fitting the devices in city ambulances is being implemented in co-ordination with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The RTA, a partner agency in the project, will mount censors at all traffic intersections and will also supply the Centre with a weekly report with the number of instances the ambulances have changed traffic lights.
“We will check these incidents with hospitals and clinics to be sure that they were genuinely serious cases,” bin Drai said.This should prevent a misuse, he added, and the driver involved will be penalised if it was done needlessly.
Bin Drai also said that the emergency staff of the ambu lance would be authorised to decide whether a case was a serious one. “We have highly qualified staff. Should any of them be mistaken in assessing the level of seriousness, he will be trained further.” The project, which is being launched on a six-month experimental phase, is being initially implemented at just seven intersections in Dubai. During the next six months it will be assessed, he said.
If the idea proves effective and there is a reduction in the time taken to transport the critically ill or injured to hospital, thus saving their lives, the project will be extended to other intersections.
“The most congested intersections were selected, three of which are on Al Qusais Road.The rest are in the Trade Centre, Dubai Hospital, Dubai Courts, and Al Wuheeda areas.” The intersections have been provided with sensors so that ambulance drivers can change the traffic lights to green at the press of a button in the vehicle from a distance of 500 metres, explained bin Drai.
Once the ambulance driver presses the switch all lights at the intersection would automatically turn red except the one in the ambulance’s path, which would turn green. The sensors would track the passing of the ambulance and the traffic lights would start operating normally once the vehicle clears the intersection, bin Drai said.
He hoped that the new technology would help reduce the traffic chaos that occurs when an ambulance with screeching sirens attempts to pass through congested roads.
“Some motorists do not give way to ambulances; others may give way to the right while some may take the left. In this chaos, an ambulance will be delayed,” bin Drai said.
“Another problem we are facing is ambulances caught jumping red lights by traffic cameras. We cannot tell whether they were transporting a serious case,” he said.
The Unified Emergency Centre runs 50 ambulances, 30 of which are allocated for traffic accidents and 20 for emergency units at various hospitals.
The 30 ambulances for accidents are distributed in various police stations and at some other public areas including Mall of the Emirates, Mercato Mall, large residential areas and Al Awir Fruit and Vegetable market, bin Drai said.
The Centre operates five emergency points at Dubai International Airport covering the departure and arrival terminals, free zone, the parking lot and the airport tarmac.
This has been planned for prompt intervention in emergency cases, he added.
EMIRATES TODAY
IA strike hits flights
DUBAI — JUN 14: Flights operated by Indian Airlines (IA) to and from the UAE were disrupted yesterday following a nationwide strike by its nearly 12,000 of employees in India. The airline’s employees were protesting against low wages and poor career prospects offered to them by the management. The airline’s Regional Manager-Gulf, Abhay Pathak, told Khaleej Times that Mumbai-Dubai flight IC684 and two Sharjah-bound chartered flights, IC976 and IC682, were cancelled yesterday.
A flight from Calicut to Dubai also was delayed as a result of the agitation. The strike by baggage handlers, check-in staff and cabin crew, which started on Tuesday and continued yesterday, reportedly affected a majority of domestic flights.
KHALEEJ TIMES
IA urged to slash fares for amnesty travellers
DUBAI — JUN 14: The All India Airport Users Forum (AIAUF) has urged the Indian Airlines (IA) authorities to introduce discounted fares for the illegals who will avail themselves of the public amnesty declared by the UAE government.
“Many poor people will be utilising the amnesty to go back to India. They cannot afford the high fares charged by IA as they would like to go back with whatever little saving they have made. The IA gets a chance to rise to the occasion and help those in need,” said K.M. Basheer, general secretary of AIAUF.
Basheer added that the authorities should seriously consider transporting the patients who were lying in the hospitals without legal papers.
“Many maid servants and other people staying illegally in the country have fallen ill during their long stay. Many are in hospitals and they have dried up their savings. When these people avail themselves of the amnesty, the IA should transport them free of cost,” appealed Basheer.
“Since this is the peak season, all the airlines have hiked their charges. However, those who utilise the amnesty cannot afford the high rates of tickets. Hence, it’s only humane to reduce fares for them,” he pointed out. Basheer also called upon all the social organisations to put pressure on the airlines to bring down their fares.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Car theft gang busted, seven held in Ajman
AJMAN — JUN 14: Ajman police have busted a gang of thieves involved in a series of car thefts and forgeries car registration documents.
Seven members of the gang, including Arab and Asian nationals, have been arrested, the police said.
“The gang lifted vehicles and sold them to others. They also used to sell car parts as scrap to companies. They used to lift cars that had been parked for a long time by using cranes,” said Brigadier Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, director of Al Nuaimia police station.
Brig. Al Shamsi said that several complaints of car thefts had been received at the police station.
“The police formed a team comprising CID officers of Al Nuiamia police station. This team gathered all the information to track the gang members,” he explained.
“The CID officers used a trap to nab the gang members and caught them red-handed,” he added. The CID sent a decoy to the gang members who asked them to help him buy a used car.
“The gang then stole a car and sold it to the decoy, after which, the police raided their garage and arrested them while changing parts and making modifications in the stolen vehicles.”
The gang members have allegedly admitted to their crimes. The case has been referred to Ajman Public Prosecution.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Driver burnt to death in crash
SHARJAH — JUN 14: An unidentified man was burnt to death yesterday when his pick-up van caught fire after colliding with a truck at the seventh intersection of Sharjah-Khawaneej Road.
According to police, the driver of the ill-fated pick-up lost control over his vehicle and crashed into a truck. The pick-up caught fire instantly and engulfed the driver.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Temporary work permit for doctors
ABU DHABI - JUN 14: The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) has decided to allow consultants and specialists to seek three-month work permit to work at private health facilities, said Engineer Zaid Al Siksek, director of health policy and regulations at HAAD.
Al Siksek said, “We are facilitating authorisation procedures for doctors to enable them to start work sooner and help clinics reduce waiting time for patients.”
He said the temporary permit will shorten the period needed for newly-recruited doctors to get a licence to join the private sector.
Concerning eligibility conditions for securing the permit, Dr Yousif Al Saddiq, director of health profession at the Authority, said applicants must submit official documents to the Authority, including a job offer from the recruiting clinic, academic qualifications and experience certificate, in addition to an insurance policy required for the medical professional.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Nearly 350,000 illegals in UAE
ABU DHABI — JUN 14: The Ministry of Labour (MoL) has disclosed that the number of illegal workers in the country could reach the figure of 350,000, out of which about 250,000 were ‘absconding’ workers.
Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, assistant undersecretary in the MoL, said of the 250,000 absconders, the sponsors of about 15,000 workers had not reported them to the ministry.
The ministry also estimated that there are almost 75,000 workers, who had abandoned their sponsors, but were not registered in the system. The remaining 160,000 absconders are on record.
According to statistics available with the ministry, in 2004, 24,360 companies reported 41,006 workers as absconding; in 2005, 33,001 firms reported 57,110 absconders; in 2006, 32,328 companies reported 58,812 absconders; and till date in 2007, 71 companies have reported 87 absconders.
“Starting from next week, the MoL in association with the Ministry of Interior will open an office in the MoL in Al Butain for the public. The office will help complete the formalities for illegals,” said Al Zahmi.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Capital plans green buildings
Abu Dhabi - Jun 14: The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) yesterday announced plans to introduce “green” and sustainable buildings in the emirate. The agency said work had begun on implementing the concept in upcoming projects in the capital.
In July last year, the agency formed a committee for implementing the green buildings project, which has so far recommended appointing a consulting company to raise standards in Abu Dhabi to international levels.
The consultants will also revise the green buildings guidelines to cover all commercial and residential buildings and formulate a phased plan to implement the concept of green buildings in the emirate.
EMIRATES TODAY