Month: April 2008
New roadworks to start at Al Diyafah intersection
New roadworks to start at Al Diyafah intersection
Staff Report GULF NEWS Published: April 02, 2008, 15:18
Dubai: A new diversion on the Al Diyafah Road intersection with Al Wasl and Al Mina Roads will start on Friday as part of the Jumeira Roads Improvement Project, said a senior official.
Motorists driving from Al Wasl Road, Jumeira Road and Al Mina Road towards Al Diyafah Road will face diversions which will be in place at least until the end of May.
“Motorists will not face a delay because we have kept the same number of lanes on the diverted roads,” said Nabeel Mohammad Saleh, Director of Roads Department at the Traffic and Roads Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
He said the traffic diversions were necessary to improve the intersection for smooth and safe traffic flow and to improve facilities for pedestrians.
Traffic signals and temporary directional signs have already been installed to streamline the traffic flow.
Saleh called on motorists using the diverted routes to abide by the prescribed speed limits, follow the directional signs on site and use alternative roads so as to ease traffic congestion during the period of construction.
“The RTA is keen to maintain smooth and safe traffic flow and provide temporary alternatives during the project implementation phase so as to ease congestion.”
He said the RTA is carrying out road improvement projects all over the city as part of its plan to widen and improve roads in view of the expanding city and subsequent increasing traffic.
Rice traders warn of empty shelves
Rice traders warn of empty shelves
By Saifur Rahman, Business Editor GULF NEWS Published: April 03, 2008, 00:05
Dubai: Rice shelves in the UAE’s supermarkets might become empty within six weeks, if the government fails to intervene soon, traders said on Wednesday.
“The market price of the top quality super cornell rice is Dh200-210, however, the government has fixed it at Dh140, which makes it uneconomic for us to import,” said a member of Foodstuff Trading Group which represents the trade, requesting anonymity.
“We want the UAE government to match the market price or subsidise. Otherwise, importers will stop buying it. As it is, the flow of import has reduced significantly and the current stock could last six weeks at best.”
Food price inflation has already replaced the list of other public worries, including house rents and traffic earlier this year. Traders warned, if the current situation is bad, then the worst is yet to come.
Pakistan has already stopped exporting basmati rice to the UAE due to the price control. Indian government is planning to top up the ban on non-basmati rice with cheaper version of the staple food, which will adversely impact the Gulf consumers, most of whom depend on these varieties of rice.
Jaaju Jaaju Stories – Importance of keeping one’s word
Importance of keeping one’s word
We all know that the pandavas left their kingdom for 13 long years for keeping up their word! Well, for Arjuna going away from the bhogas of a king, for the sake of truth, was not new. He did it once well before the aranyavaas. The story goes like this:
The kalyaanam of pandavas with Draupadi was an unusual one. However, it was perfectly according to dharma shastras. Infact Draupadi is one of the greatest pativratas and praised even by Lord Krishna for her Dharma vartana. A few reasons to justify the kalyaanam:
Kunti Devi, the mother of pandavas, who never knew what a lie was, gave her will.
Vyaasa Maharshi, one of the avataar of Lord Vishnu, ordered the kalyaanam to be done.
Lord Shiva, pleased with her tapas, gave a boon to Draupadi to marry the pandavas.
Pandavas, though were five physically, were all amshas of Indra, the King of the Gods. Hence, pandavas were actually one.
Naarada, again an avataar of Lord Vishnu, suggested some rules to be followed by pandavas and Draupadi for living together. This is because, though they were amshas of Gods and Godesses, since they had a human form some addition rules according to dharma shastras needed to be followed. One of the rules was that: Draupadi should spend one year with each of the pandavas and while she was with one of them, no other pandavas should visit the palace where they might be. In case of any breach of their rule, one-year pilgrimage was prescribed by way of penance leaving the kingdom.The pandavas and Draupadi were living happily until one day: a brahmana came running to Arjuna saying that the thieves had stolen his cows. Arjuna wanted to rush with him to catch the thieves but he realised that his bow and arrows were kept in Yudhisthira’s palace and he was there in the company of Draupadi. He hesitated for a while, then seeing brahmana’s plight he rushed in to Yudhisthira ‘s palace took his bow and arrows and ran to catch the thieves. After he caught the thieves and punished them, after restoring the cows of the brahmana, Arjuna came back to Yudhisthira and told him about his transgression of the rule.
Yudhisthira, knowing the reason of the breach of their rule, said their is no need for Arjuna to take the pilgrimage. Since it is a mistake committed towards him, and that too for a good reason, he will pardon arjuna . However, Arjuna would never break his word. He immediately set out for a one-year pilgrimage. May be this is why Arjuna is such a favourite sakha of Lord Krishna.
Morals in the Story:
The story shows how important it is to keep up ones word, whether it is of any consequence or not, how much ever difficult it is.
Arjuna, knowing that he will be punished for breaching the rule, did not stop doing his duty as a king to protect his people and punish the theif. Thus, one must always perform his duty without any laziness or any kind of fear.
Rewards for such people do show up as immediate difficulties, but in the end – it is truth is what always wins (Satyameva jayate). Arjuna’s win was in the way of gaining eternal friendship with the Lord.
Message:
Imagine if everyone keeps his word and always speaks truth — will we have corruption? will we have poverty? Though its a very difficult to inculcate, unless we are truthful there will be no development.
Like Arjuna if everyone does they duty — will there be such slow development for such a large community of intelligent people?
Temporal gains got by saying lies never will be permanent. They will not only bring us down on a long run in life, leave aside winning the heart of the God.
Guidelines to help travellers avoid bringing in banned medicines to UAE
Guidelines to help travellers avoid bringing in banned medicines to UAE By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: March 08, 2008, 01:09
Dubai: Each country has its own laws and regulations to protect citizens and visitors.
Rules and regulations differ from country to country and what is allowed in one country could be prohibited and even considered a crime in another country.
One rule that differs vastly from some other countries is the bringing of certain pharmaceuticals into the UAE.
Everyone, including visitors, are subject to the UAE’s laws and regulations and tourists may find that they are different from the rules in their own country.
As the UAE becomes one of the most popular tourist and transit destinations in the world here are some guidelines to help travellers avoid bringing in any banned medical substance or drugs.
Zero-tolerance
There is a zero-tolerance policy towards intoxicating drugs and possession. Even a very small amount of illegal drugs found on the person will lead to a long jail sentence. Drug trafficking will lead to a life sentence or the death penalty.
But there are certain medicinal drugs, even over-the-counter drugs, which although legal when taken under a doctor’s supervision in one’s home country, could land that person in jail in the UAE. Some over-the-counter drugs are considered controlled items in the UAE as they produce effects that contravene local laws.
The presence of these illegal drugs is detected by blood or urine tests, and even very small quantities of such medicines are subject to prosecution by the authorities.
Before coming here it is wise to be informed that possession of a number of pharmaceuticals could land you in trouble here.
If you are undergoing medical treatment in your country and you are travelling to the UAE, be sure to carry with you a doctor’s prescription of the medication which you are bringing.
Possession of certain prescribed medicines (especially those containing codeine, a common ingredient for pain relief and cold and flu medication) will land you in jail here.
There are 365 such medicines listed on the UAE’s health ministry’s website.
Be aware also that there are no warnings posted at airports. Travel agencies may not inform you of such restrictions.
All gas cylinders in Dubai to have improved safety valves
All gas cylinders in Dubai to have improved safety valves By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: April 08, 2008, 23:39
Dubai: All domestic gas users will have new cylinder valves with improved safety features, a senior official announced on Tuesday.
The changeover will be executed with immediate effect in Dubai by Emirates Gas in partnership with Emarat. The valves and regulators are available from all authorised LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder distributors for a one-off payment of Dh40.
The move comes following a decision by the undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior in conjunction with Dubai Civil Defence. Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence and head of the committee that put in place a structure to enforce the decision, stressed the importance of all bottling and distribution companies’ commitment to the clauses under the Ministry’s decision.
Colonel Ahmad Al Sayegh, Deputy Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said faulty gas cylinder valves were time bombs and there had been many fires at houses, labour accommodation and Portakabins and this had led to a study on the reasons behind the fires.
“Experts said gas leaks or errors in the valves were the main reasons behind those fires,” he said.
The civil defence will implement the mechanism to ensure the use of the new attachments and initiate an awareness programme for residents. It will also perform checks on restaurants and other public places to ensure the new regulators and valves are being used.
Ali Mustafa, General Manager, Emirates Gas, said considering Dubai alone has 300,000 to 400,00 domestic gas cylinders in use, the environmental and safety advantages of the new valves will be tremendous.
Several advanced safety features
Dubai: The new valve has several advanced safety features and is being introduced after extensive research and trials.
It has a short one-piece body with high impact strength. It also has a protective gasket preventing the entry of dust and water and a self-closing valve preventing accidental leaks.
The regulator is equipped with an automatic cut-off mechanism to stop the flow of gas in case of a leak or cut in the rubber hose. The cylinder valve will close in case of a fire. The current cylinders when empty will be exchanged for a cylinder with a new valve by the distributor. Cylinders with this new valve can be operated only by a regulator supplied by Emirates Gas or Emarat. It is estimated that about 1,000 cylinders with new valves will be changed per day.
– Staff Report
Timeline: Blast history
March 29, 2008: Gas cylinder blast injures three workers in Ras Al Khaimah.
February 20, 2008: Seven hurt in villa gas cylinder explosion in Deira, Dubai.
May 19, 2005: Ten hurt and 22 shops and 70 vehicles damaged after a gas pipe leak caused a massive explosion in a restaurant on Al Wahda Street, Sharjah.
February 28, 2005: Massive gas cylinder blast wrecks Sharjah cafeteria.
December 19, 2004: Three injured in cylinder blast in the Al Wathba district, Abu Dhabi.
December 7, 2003: Gas cylinder blast destroys restaurant and shop in Ras Al Khaimah.
September 30, 2001: Gas cylinder explodes in apartment in Al Rifaa, Dubai.
Air Arabia launches flights to Kuala Lumpur
Air Arabia launches flights to Kuala Lumpur
Staff Report GULF NEWS Published: April 09, 2008, 15:04
Sharjah: Low-cost carrier Air Arabia has announced the launch of daily flights between Sharjah, UAE, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in a joint venture with FlyYeti.com.
Air Arabia will operate the Sharjah-Kathmandu leg of the journey, while FlyYeti.com will manage the flights between Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur.
As part of a special inaugural promotion, fares on this route will start at AED 505, exclusive of taxes and surcharges.
Think before you swipe credit card for cash
Think before you swipe credit card for cash
Vidyalaxmi, TNN
What’s the worst thing to do with your credit card? Use it to withdraw cash from the ATM, says a financial expert. In your monthly credit card statement, there is a mention of cash limit. That is the extent to which one could withdraw cash using a credit card. But the googly is the interest rates. It’s actually a very expensive proposition to withdraw cash as the interest rates on such withdrawals fall in the range of 40% on an annual basis.
Usually, the credit card company mentions the interest rate as a percentage per month which typically varies from 2.7-2.85% per month. And since this interest is compounded monthly, the effective annual rate of interest tends to be anywhere from 38 to 40% per annum.
Essentially, credit card companies charge the same interest rates for cash withdrawals made through credit cards and for rolling over credit card balances. But if one pays the entire amount on due date, one gets around 30-45 days of interest free credit. But what is important to know is that rule doesn’t apply in case of cash withdrawals; the credit card company levies the interest rate the moment you withdraw the cash.
Cash withdrawals can also attract an additional withdrawal fee. This charge falls in the range of 3-3.5% of the withdrawn amount. That will be added along with the interest rate to your bill. Therefore, unless you have emergency needs, do not withdraw cash on your credit card. The better option though is to go for a personal loan.
Says RL Prasad, general manager and head of cards and personal loans at Standard Chartered Bank, “You should look at this option as the last resort. If it’s a planned expenditure and you don’t have sufficient liquidity then a personal loan is be a viable option.”
Credit card cash withdrawals vs personal loan
Personal loan is a better option as the average interest rate on personal loans is between 15-20% per annum. The only handicap however, is that it takes around 7-10 working days for the banks to process personal loans.
For the uninitiated, every credit card statement has a billing date. For example, if your credit card payment is due on March 15 then the bill would have been dated around February 27.
So if you purchase anything on February 28 or later, that payment would be due only on April 15. So you get some time to cough up that money to pay off the dues. If you are unable to pay the outstanding amount, then the credit card company charges a month rate of 2.95% of the total amount. But this breather doesn’t exist on these cash withdrawals.
Old is Gold – Sri. V. Dakshinamoorthy Swami
Thyaga Brahmam Sreekaram………
Vow, Sambho Mahadeva, even at this age V Dakshinamoorthy Swami’s performance – Marvellous, GOLD is GOLD, Best Kanna Best. What more to say!!! Listen to a part of the recordings of the keerthanam he sang today for Raga Ratnam Junior programme.
Mridangam by Dr. G Satheesh Babu
Ghadam by Perukavu P L Sudheer
Violin by Edappalli Ajith Kumar
Mukhar Sangh by Neyyattinkara Krishnan
Ivarude ekopanam athyugranayirunnu. Dr. G. Satheesh Babu proved once again, whether it is a 5 year old beginner or a 90 year old veteran, like LIC, accompaniment for kacheri is safe in his hand.
Sreeramachandranum, Devaadi Devanmarum avide prathyakshathil undayirunna pole thonni. Easwara, ee sangetham ennennum anaswaramayirikkane ennu prarthanayode.
ClicksandWrites 
You must be logged in to post a comment.