Darkness surrounds female labour camps in Abu Dhabi

A COMPLAINT was sent by a resident of Musafah city in Abu Dhabi where he said there are two or three labour camps for women but no street lights in the vicinity. These camps are located in an area which also houses several other labour accommodations and has a dubious history of harassment of women, he said.

By Complaints Corner

Published: Wed 24 May 2006, 11:44 AM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 7:49 PM

"Many complaints in this regard have been lodged with the police," the complainant claimed.

Reply

ABU DHABI Police has recently introduced a law which prosecutes individuals who harass women. According to an officer at the department, the penalty for an offence of this kind is a one-year jail term and Dh60,000 fine if the offender is a UAE national. In case of being an expatriate, the convict will be deported after serving the jail term and paying the fine, the officer explained.

Replying specifically to the complaint at hand, the officer said the Abu Dhabi Police patrols are deployed round the clock in all suburbs of the capital. They keep a vigilant eye on the streets and road users to ensure the safety and convenience, particularly of women to prevent their falling prey to harassment. The lack of street-lighting does not hinder the work of the police patrols, the officer explained.

He said that the issue is being followed up by higher authorities whose aim it is to eradicate it completely from society.

No Friday prayers for guards!

A SECURITY guard working with Emirates Security Services called up the Khaleej Times Hotline and complained that the security guards working in Carrefour in Deira City Centre cannot go to mosque for offering Friday prayers. He claimed the company instructed them to work even during prayer time.

''I am a Muslim and it is my basic right to offer prayers. The company introduced shift system in which a group of us can go every Friday in the first 15 days of the month for Friday prayer and the other group can go the next 15,'' he claimed.

''We feel really bad when we cannot go for prayers. It is very important for us to go for Friday prayers,'' he said.

Reply

WHEN Khaleej Times took up the issue with the company, a source there said: "The company will look into the problem. We will not assign Muslim staff to work on Fridays. We know it is a very important matter and it will be solved at the earliest."

Round and about in Sharjah

WITH the number of vehicles on the UAE roads increasing by leaps and bounds every year, the traffic situation has almost reached a gridlock in most emirates. With its tight corridors, bad road designing and town planning, and a pathetic motoring attitude among its motorists, the problem is more compounded in Sharjah.

Mohammed Khalifa, a resident of Sharjah, called up the Complaints Corner and said he is tired of the congestion at the numerous roundabouts in Sharjah. He claimed that motorists spend as much as three-quarters of an hour at each of these obsolete roundabouts, signals of which are mostly kept off, waiting for their turn in the unruly and serpentine queue of vehicles.

Reply

OFFICIALS from Sharjah Traffic Department said that the government is carrying out massive road projects to expand streets, develop industrial areas and the outskirts of the emirate. The projects are being carried out at an estimated cost of more than Dh2.1 billion, and involve removing traffic lights (by creating freeways) and roundabouts in order to encourage the free flow of traffic in all parts of the emirate.

The development of roads includes setting up two bridges near the Gold Centre and the Flying Saucer district, in addition to an underpass in the Cultural Square, in order to ensure the free flow of traffic movement for motorists.

Some of the major projects being undertaken currently are expected to finish in two phases by the end of 2007.

Cyclists on Dubai roads

ELIAS, a Dubai resident and Khaleej Times reader, called up the hotline raising questions on rules and regulations to curb the menace of cyclists on Dubai's roads. According to him, bicyclists in Dubai are generally reckless and a major hazard for motorists, and their movement needs to be monitored and regulated if vehicular accidents are to be minimised.

Reply

AN OFFICIAL at the RTA noted that a comprehensive study on bicyclists and pedestrians was conducted by a section in the Roads Department, and the result of this study has prompted the Authority to take these two road users into consideration while developing its strategy.

Replying to the complaint, the official noted that proposals to have special lanes for cyclists are being considered by the section. Also, the inner parts of the city could be made out of bounds for motorists if a proposal to 'pedestrianise' some of the tight alleyways of the Central Business Districts (CBDs) in Deira and Bur Dubai are approved.

A special lane for bicycles and better facilities for pedestrians would mean safer roads for all, the official said, adding that the rules will be made more stringent for jaywalkers as well as cyclists who use the sidewalks and pose hazards to the pedestrians and motorists.