Parents need to be alert
It is tragic that parents allow children to sit in the front seat of a car. The issue is not that they put their children on the driver's lap but also that mothers sit in the front carrying babies without wearing a seatbelt! I am angered by the fact that a mother does not have the common sense to sit at the back with her child.
From Ms Dina K.
Dubai
Correction needed
I was quite disappointed to find several responses to my letter regarding cricket, yet none of them willing to tackle my main criticism - that of cricket crybabies ("Your Turn", Gulf News, May 12). Within these pedantic replies, however, were a few assumptions that I feel need to be corrected: firstly, I do not watch cricket, frankly I would sooner stick a needle in my eye. Secondly, to my knowledge, North America has not embraced cricket. Finally, I agree sports should not be limited to football, rugby, and baseball; ice hockey should be included as well!
From Mr Keith Alaska
Dubai
Focus on creamers
I have seen quite a few reader letters about how some people in the UAE do not turn off their lights for an hour each day. As far as I am aware, everybody turns off theirs lights, TV, radio every day for at least eight hours, while they are sleeping at night. There you go, problem solved. On another more important note, we're missing the whole picture with the real problem. Flavoured coffee creamers - is there some kind of conspiracy going on against the vanilla and hazelnut flavoured coffee creamers? You see it in the grocery store for a few days. Next thing you know, it completely vanishes for months at a time. It is so hard to get flavoured coffee creamers! Any flavour will do. Isn't there some way the authorities can look into this and rectify the problem?
From Mr Tim Miller
Dubai
Preventing chicken pox
Many people in the UAE do not have enough knowledge about chicken pox. I request Gulf News to provide a detailed write-up that would help educate people in taking necessary steps at the right time to control the disease.
From Ms Bindu Sarochand
UAE
Boring shops
Some of the shopping options in Dubai have become exceedingly boring. Each mall has identical shops. There is little or no variety in what is being sold. Despite thousands of shoe shops not one sells shoes that are comfortable and smart or suitable for the office. Usually, all clothing available on sale is too ostentatious to wear during daytime! As someone who was once a shopaholic, I am now cured - some stores are the last place I want to go to on my weekend!
From Ms Johanna Richmond
Dubai
Sky-high rent
In recent years, the problem of skyrocketing prices with regard to housing in Dubai has become simply unbearable. I have been living in a spacious yet decently priced villa for seven years. However, I was abruptly told that I have a few months to collect all my belongings and move out. The worst part is that it is an impossible feat to find a house in the area that is not over 20 years old and within my budget. It seems that most landlords have the same idea in mind: replace a few tiles, call the villas "renovated" and charge double the price.
From Ms Marina Begovic
Dubai
Unfair
Recently, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) introduced a slab system that claims to reduce the consumption of electricity. How fair is it to charge a customer for what he or she is not using? As a resident expatriate for the past nine years, I have never crossed or reached the 1,000-unit mark.
With the introduction of the slab system, I now pay for something that I do not use at all. There should be options that are fair.
From Mr Bharat Walunj
Dubai
Dumped cars
As a resident of Abu Shagara in Sharjah, I find it impossible to find parking space near my house, with all the used cars for sale dumped in the area. With no place to park, I sometimes park my car at the roadside and have got a couple of parking fines for doing so. The strange part is that no "used cars" are fined for parking on the side of the roads. Instead, it is the residents who are being penalised.
From Mr S. Uthran
Sharjah
Respect all
Although the trees are a hindrance to visibility while driving on roads, the bigger problem is a lack of respect for other road users ("U-turn safety measures 'too late', say Al Wasl residents", Gulf News, May 14). For some weird reason, everyone believes they have the right of way at a roundabout or an intersection and even in the case of flowing traffic. The roads will become safer the day drivers respect fellow road users.
From Mr Elias Pereira
Dubai
Divide, if possible
Lane dividers on Shaikh Zayed Road play a major role in separating the Salik users from non-users. The method is quite successful. Why doesn't the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) consider installing similar type of lane dividers on the Dubai-Sharjah highway? If there were lane dividers, it would be possible for everyone to avoid traffic jams.
From Mr Nandhakumar Bala
Dubai
