NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

Three-wheel taxis yet to charm Dubai’s commuters 
 
Dubai - Jun 22: The reaction of Dubai’s residents to the proposed plan to introduce auto-rickshaws to the city is crucial to the project’s success.  The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has authorised a market research agency to study the possibility of launching a tuk-tuk service in some of the city’s areas and streets.

And the agency said it has interviewed “random possible users” of such a service in some areas of Dubai with narrow streets as well as those located near Metro stations.

“The response for the first phase has been amazing. We are still assessing the results,” said an official.

In the second phase, hundreds of internet messages will be sent to find out whether the tuk-tuk can be a favoured means of transport for Dubai residents, added the official.

Commuters in Dubai have expressed mixed opinions about the proposed introduction of tuk-tuks to the UAE.

While some believed the three-wheel vehicles would improve the availability of transport, others wondered if it can help solve the city’s congestion issues.

“They will only add to the number of vehicles on the road. The congestion is only going to increase,” said Patricia Tellis, 31, who works in a public relations firm in Dubai. “Otherwise they should not allow cars into these areas and only operate rickshaws like they do in London,” she added.

Some of them, however, welcomed the proposed vehicles’ energy efficiency.

“If they can operate only with natural gas and electricity then it is great news. More and more people should be advised to stop using their cars, thereby reducing pollution levels,” said Suma Kiran, 32, an accounts executive.

And though some residents raised health concerns about the vehicles, Lalit Mohan Uchil, specialist physician and medical director at Welcare Ambulatory Care Centre at Knowledge Village, dismissed fears that travelling on Tuktuks could cause muscle cramps or back pain.

“The roads here are fairly OK and there should be no problem at all. It is only when there are badly maintained roads with too many potholes that passengers will be affected. Here in the UAE travelling on a tuk-tuk will be no different from sitting inside a small car,” said Uchil.

EMIRATES TODAY

Salik will take its toll on rent-a-car clients
 

Dubai - Jun  22: Major car rental companies in Dubai will charge their customers a ten per cent fee on top of their charges for Salik, the city’s new road toll system launched next month.

When the system becomes operational, drivers passing through the toll gates – near Interchange Four on Sheikh Zayed Road and on Sheikh Rashid Road, opposite the Grand Hyatt Hotel – will be charged Dh4 every time they drive through.

However, the clients of some hire car companies, including Dubai’s major players, will be charged Dh4.50.

This means that a customer who passes through the tollgates twice daily, will have to pay Dh30 per month on top of the toll charges. If this is done for a period of one year, the sum owed to the car rental company is Dh365.

The car rental industry is justifying the overhead as cover for additional administrative costs it will incur because of Salik. But customers are not convinced.

“I think they will actually benefit from this,” said Yana Valeva, assistant operations manager at a company that leases a large number of vehicles from Thrifty.

Hertz also recently notified its clients of the additional charges. “All credit payments to the Salik tag will be made directly by Hertz and all toll charges will be debited from customers’ accounts on a monthly basis,” said a notice the company distributed to its customers last week.

Diamondlease will also apply a similar policy, which the company’s managing director, Aswini Borkotoky, said was necessary because of the increased administrative costs the toll charge has brought about.

He said every day the company, which owns 6,500 cars, will have to process at least 20,000 transactions.

 
EMIRATES TODAY

All workers entitled to terminal benefits

ABU DHABI — Jun 22: Companies must pay the end-of-service benefits to all workers, even if they had signed commission-based contracts, an official at the Ministry of Labour (MoL) said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mona Al Raesi, director of the Dispute Department at the MoL, said, “if the worker has signed contract with the employer and the contract is registered at the MoL, then the employer must pay the end-of-service benefits to the worker.”

Article no. 57 of the labour law states that all workers are entitled to the end-of-service benefits after completing their contracts or in case of their termination or resignation.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Tumour weighing 2kg removed from woman

DUBAI — Jun 22: An Indian woman has had a tumour weighing 2kg, the equivalent of a fully grown foetus, removed in a hysterectomy operation at Medcare Hospital.

Visiting consultant and surgeon Dr Hafeez Rehman and his team at Medcare Hospital operated on 47-year-old Fayeka Rasulji to remove the fibroid mass along with uterus from her abdomen at the hospital in Jumeirah last week.

The tumour was identified as non-cancerous.

“Three years ago, when I visited the gynaecologist, I was diagnosed with a lump in my abdomen with multiple fibroids, but did not feel any pain. I put off the operation as I was told the growth would reduce after menopause,” said Rasulji.

“But recently I began to feel very weak, giddy, anaemic and lost my appetite. I found it very difficult to move around because of the pressure on my kidneys and also had trouble sleeping,” she said.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Parts of Sharjah hit by power outage

SHARJAH — Jun 22: Some parts of Sharjah faced a temporary power outage yesterday evening, giving anxious moments to residents.

The power outage was reportedly caused because of maintenance work being carried out by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) engineers. The engineers were reportedly replacing the cables in an effort to strengthen power supply in the emirate in the summer months.

The power outage affected some parts of Rolla, Al Ghubaiba, Maisaloon and Al Azana at around 7pm, but was restored within an hour, said SEWA’s director general Al Waleed bin Khadim.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Khadim said: “SEWA is carrying out maintenance work and restoration of new cables in several areas of Sharjah, but in a phased manner. Power was disconnected in some parts yesterday because SEWA is installing new power units and replacing the cables. This is being carried out as per SEWA’s plans announced earlier to enhance the volume of power supply in the emirate, particularly due to the increase in consumption during the summer months.”

However, several Sharjah residents complained that traffic was thrown out of gear in the affected areas with police patrolling the roads.

KHALEEJ TIMES