General
Unserviceable debt drives more people to suicide
Unserviceable debt drives more people to suicide By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter Published: July 11, 2008, 00:50
Dubai: Rising debt has led to a rising number of suicides among Indian expatriates, according to an Indian Welfare Trust.
According to the trust the main cause for suicide is because people are unable to pay off their debt.
Suicides among Indian expatriates have been on the rise since 2003, said K.V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust.
The trust has an ongoing initiative “Sandwanam” (Consolation) that aims to reduce suicides among expatriate Indians. He said debt has trapped many low and middle income Indian expatriates in the UAE. A good number of Indian expatriates could not even pay interest to the lenders. Main sources of credit are bank loans, credit cards and individual illegal lenders.
Interest rate
“The interest rate varies and depends on the source of the loan. While banks are charging up to 8 per cent for loans, on credit cards interest can be up to 30 per cent and individual lenders charge from 72 per cent to 120 per cent. The spending habits of expatriates and their dependents play a very important role in getting people into debt.
“Once a person becomes a non-resident Indian, the family back home will start spending lavishly without considering the financial situation of the breadwinner,” said Shamshudeen.
He said in expressing their love and affection for their families, Indian expatriates who fall in the middle income group try to meet all the financial needs of the family back home, sacrificing even basic necessities and taking out loans without regard for the consequences.
“If there is any possibility to get a loan from a bank that will be their first option. When they cannot pay back the bank loan they apply for credit cards and take loans from the credit cards. When both become overburdened they will take loans from individual lenders with exorbitant interest rates,” said Shamsudheen.
“In some cases the minimum payment on the credit cards is more than their monthly salary. Such cases are increasing day by day,” he added.
Shamsudheen has been spreading awareness on financial planning and frugality, cautioning people not to fall into the debt trap. “I have conducted 150 training sessions for more than 40,000 people all over the Gulf. The Government of India should also take the initiative to educate the dependents of expatriates to spend within the limit of their earnings, after saving for the future,” he said.
Adnoc diesel card to ease congestion
Adnoc diesel card to ease congestion
Haneen Dajani and Matthew Chung
Last Updated: July 12. 2008 10:32PM UAE / July 12. 2008 6:32PM GMT
ABU DHABI // Only motorists with a pre-paid card will be allowed to buy diesel at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) stations, allowing the company to better control sales, it announced yesterday.
In addition to requiring customers filling up with diesel to use a Rahal card issued by the company, Adnoc said it had begun to restrict sales of the fuel for heavy vehicles to certain times of the day, increased the number of diesel pumps at some stations, and made stations on motorways outside the city centre specialise in supplying diesel to cut down on traffic congestion at its stations.
Lorry drivers have been flocking to Adnoc stations as its competitors, who buy at international market rates, have more than doubled their diesel prices.
The company did not say when it would stop serving customers who did not have a Rahal card. The announcement comes about a week after traffic police in the capital asked the company to introduce new procedures to ease congestion near its pumps because of an increase in accidents. A report by the Abu Dhabi Traffic and Patrols Department, viewed by The National, recommended that diesel not be sold to lorries and buses on the island between 7am and 9am, 1pm and 3pm, and 6pm and 9pm.
The Rahal cards are linked to the company’s main headquarters through an electronic system that will define how much diesel is required for each consumer.
Some drivers have said that they had purchased diesel from other drivers who were filling up beyond their needs and then reselling the fuel at a higher price.
Rahal cards will be issued at Adnoc’s main head quarters in Abu Dhabi and its offices in Al Ain, Western Region and Sharjah.
Diesel sales at many stations on Abu Dhabi Island had ceased, along with other services such as car washes and oil changes at some stations, to provide more space for fuel pumps, the company said.
Adnoc stations have been inundated with heavy vehicles since the price of diesel began to increase at Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), and Emarat and Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco) stations in Dubai and the northern Emirates.
Prices have reached Dh19.25 (US$5.24) per gallon, while Adnoc continues to sell diesel for Dh8.60 per gallon. Drivers say they spend hours waiting to buy a limited amount of fuel, and at stations selling diesel and petrol inside the island, traffic has been blocked by the long queues. Adnoc’s 49 petrol stations in the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al Qaiwain and Fujairah are also seeing high levels of traffic. Adnoc stations in the northern Emirates stopped sales of diesel to lorries with Dubai licence plates last month, and police have been handing out fines to vehicles queuing in Sharjah.
The rise in the price of diesel has contributed to inflation by pushing up the cost of transporting food and daily commodities. Adnoc has more than 180 stations throughout the country and has plans to build more stations and expand its existing ones.
hdajani@thenational.ae mchung@thenational.ae
Livelihood regulations documented
Livelihood regulations documented
Saturday July 12 2008 11:13 IST Sudha Nambudiri for EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOCHI
KOCHI: Did you know that small food courts, mobile vendors and cobblers in Kochi are not issued licence?
Your neighbourhood mobile vegetable and fruit vendors do not have licence to sell. This was revealed in a study conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) under a ‘Law, Liberty and Livelihood’ project.
The study, which was aimed at documenting the livelihood regulations and barriers in the informal sector, was conducted in 63 cities across the country where the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)is being implemented.
“The purpose was to unveil the laws applicable to entry-level professions like mobile and stationary street vendors and to document them, thereby drawing public attention to the issues faced by the entry- level professions,” said Dhanraj, CPPR coordinator.
The study is funded by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai. The outcome of the research project is easy-to-navigate website http://www.cppr.in or http://www.ccs.in on the rules and regulations in five informal sectors, including cycle rickshaws, autos and shops like meat or barber shops in these cities.
According to the Kerala Municipality Act, a person who enters a trade or any other business in streets has to get permission from the secretary of the Corporation in advance of 30 days (D and O Schedule M O H 12/10013/94). At present, no licence is being given to fruit sellers.
In Kochi, the licence is regulated by the Corporation under the purview of the Kerala Municipalities Act and Rules 1994. It issues two types of licences, namely, dangerous and offensive trade licence and prevention of food adulteration licence.
The fee is fixed by the council. “If you are a late eater, it’s wise that you grab your manna early as it is mandatory that all shops close at 10 pm,” said Caroline C who coordinated the study.
No restaurant or eating-house will be opened between 10 pm. and 5 am. Hotels, bakery, sweets and meat shops require both licences.
Women’s Day Out
Women’s Day Out
Friday July 11 2008 10:29 IST Express Features
It’s a women’s-only musical extravaganza that is sure to rock the city.
Organised by Livejam, a social and non profit organisation committed to imparting rays of hope to a generation that is hurt due to the after effects of broken homes, drugs and alcohol, they have a variety of events planned out for women.
Urban youth is their primary focus. It will be an avenue for women to relax, take a break and enjoy themselves with their girlfriends, and also socialise with other women in the city.
Women’s Day Out is being organised in Kerala for the first time and the objective is to prepare and empower women. It is a direct result of their research into the lives of women who are more into multitasking than their male counterparts, handling home, family, kids, career and all at one go.
The highlight of the event is a live concert by Kontagious, a six-member band from Chennai. They will set the floor on fire with their Bollywood numbers.
A talk by former Miss Teen Washington and the third runner-up at the Miss Teen America event Sungeetha Jain is on the cards. A motivational speaker of international repute, she has spoken at several conferences and women’s events in India and abroad.
Sungeetha is the first woman in the world on a wheelchair to have won a beauty pageant in 1993 competing against normal, healthy and mobile women. She met with a terrible accident at the age of 10 that left her crippled.
She is a woman with an inspirational life-story, a saga of never knowing when to give up, but rising above all odds and obstacles in life to become a success story.
Livejam has a variety of events planned out for the women in Kochi. Their primary focus is to evolve a women’s forum to better the life of women in the city by addressing practical problems and issues of daily life.
They also provide a platform to encourage and promote budding musicians and artists. The two-hour cultural extravaganza will be held at AJ Hall, Kaloor, on Saturday from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm. Entry through invites only.
For details, call 9287341146, 9447154264.
New visa rules come into effect
New visa rules come into effect
By Adel Arafah (Staff reporter/KHALEEJ TIMES)
10 July 2008 Print E-mail
ABU DHABI — Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, has issued a decision amending certain provisions of the law of entry and residence of foreigners.
According to the amendments, which came into effect on July 5, a new type of visa, multiple entry visa, would be issued which allows the bearer to enter the country several times during the six months from the date of issue. The bearer will be able to stay for a maximum of 14 days after each entry into the country.
The Department of Naturalisation and Residency and the embassies and consulates of the UAE in foreign countries will have the authority to issue visas to the foreigners for visiting their relatives or friends who have legitimate resident visas in the UAE.
There will be two types of visit visas, both non-renewable. The first type, long-term visit visa, allows the holders to stay in the UAE for 90 days. The second type, short-term visit visa, allows the holders to stay in the country for 30 days.
For entry permits to visit the UAE, the request should be submitted in the prescribed application forms of the Ministry of Interior along with the documents required for each case.
A) If the purpose of entering the country is visiting a relative or friend, residing in the country legally, the following requirements should be fulfilled:
1. The visitor should be a spouse or one of the immediate relatives of the sponsor. An exception could be made for the second-degree relatives to visit the sponsor on approval by the Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior or his representative;
2. The sponsor should be a UAE citizen in case the visitor is a friend of the person who submits the application; and
3. Proof of consanguinity, marriage or justification for the visit must be furnished and the sponsor must stand as guarantees.
B) If a woman wants to visit her husband who is a citizen of GCC countries but living in the UAE, she must have a valid residence visa in the country of her husband.
In all circumstances, the beneficiary should have a health insurance cover and pay Dh1,000 as a financial guarantee that would be refunded upon departure.
The visit visa holder will be allowed to enter the UAE once within two months from the date of issue.
Visitors may be allowed into the country for studies and the holder of this type of visa will be allowed to enter the UAE once during the two months from the date of issue and they could stay for 60 days and may be extended for the same term twice.
One of the universities or institutes or educational or research institutions licensed in the UAE should provide the guarantee for the study visa. The beneficiary should have health insurance cover and deposit Dh1,000 as guarantee that would be refunded upon departure.
Visit visas may be issued for medical treatment. The holder of such a permit may enter the country once, within two months from the date of issue. The person could stay in the country for 90 days from the date of entry. Such permit may be extended only once for the same period. A hospital must sponsor the patient and a medical report must be furnished along with the refundable deposit of Dh1,000.
Visas for attending an exhibition, festival or conference will be only for a single entry within two months from the date of issue. The person could stay in the country for up to 30 days from the date of entry. This visa cannot be extended. The occurrence and timing of the event must be certified in a letter issued by an official department. A refundable deposit of Dh1,000 must be paid.
The holder of a tourist visa may enter the country once within two months from the date of issue. The person could stay for a maximum of 30 days in the country from the date of entry. Such visas could be extended once for the same period. The sponsor of the visitor must be the tourist agency or institution. A deposit of Dh75,000 must be paid when applying for an institution card.
A refundable deposit of Dh1,000 shall be paid for such a visa for people of certain nationalities to be specified by the decision from the Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry. The application should be submitted to the department concerned a week before arrival and the number of people for whom the visa is sought must not be more than 10. The itinerary should be attached with the application. An exception to the number of members of the group may be given by the Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry. The persons must have health insurance cover.
The UAE ambassadors and consuls abroad are also authorised to issue entry visas for public figures, dignitaries and alike. The condition of sponsor may even be dropped in such cases.
The beneficiaries, as per the bylaw, must, in all cases, have medical insurance.
Dolphin Energy to fence Al Ain–Fujairah pipeline
Dolphin Energy to fence Al Ain–Fujairah pipeline
KHALEEJ TIMES 9 July 2008
ABU DHABI – Dolphin Energy said that work is about to begin to fence key sections of its Al Ain to Fujairah Gas Pipeline (AFP).
The contract for $19.1 million has been awarded to Al Husam General Contracting Establishment of Abu Dhabi, who will erect fencing along more than 100 kilometres of the 184 kilometre pipeline. This programme has been designed to improve security and to ensure public safety.
Some 40 kilometres of guard-rail will be installed as a security barrier at the Fujairah end of the pipeline. The work will be completed by year end.
Simultaneously, 70 kilometres of the southern section of the line, directly north of Al Ain, will be fenced with welded mesh fencing. Pedestrian and vehicle access crossings will also be provided along the fence, for public use. Completion of this element of the contract is scheduled for September 2009.
Dubai residents could soon cancel labour cards at residency department
Dubai residents could soon cancel labour cards at residency department
Dubai: Labour Card cancellation could soon be done at the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) and at its offices in Dubai.
Those who need to cancel their labour cards can complete the procedure of cancellation at the DNRD without the need to visit the Ministry of Labour.
A team from DNRD and the Labour Ministry is studying the possibilities of implementing the new service.
Humaid Bin Deemas, assistant undersecretary at the ministry, said the new service will benefit a large number of expatriates.
Major Khalifa Mattar Balkoba’a, head of external centre sector at DNRD, said the department is looking forward to provide the best service.
He said it is a one-stop-visit option to assess the needs and administrative requirements.
Labour card cancellation at DNRD branches soon
Labour card cancellation at DNRD branches soon
By a staff reporter KHALEEJ TIMES 9 July 2008
DUBAI— The external branches of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) may soon be providing the services for labour card cancellation. If the service starts, individuals will be able to complete the procedure of cancellation of labour cards at any of DNRD branch without having to go to the Ministry of Labour (MoL).
DNRD and MoL are currently discussing the feasibility of providing Labour Card cancellation service at all DNRD’s external branches across the emirate.
A team from DNRD and the Ministry of Labour was formed to study the feasibility of the process and identify the requirements as well as prepare a time frame for the gradual execution of the project across the 12 offices of DNRD in Dubai.
The cooperation details were discussed during a meeting between Humaid bin Dimas, Acting Under-Secretary Ministry of Labour, and Major Khalifa Matar Balkobaa’, Head of External Centre Sector at DNRD, along with a number of employees from both sides.
Bin Dimas, expressing satisfaction over the ongoing strategic partnership between MoL and DNRD, said that the cooperation will benefit a large number of expatriates and help in reducing the commuting time by using the facilities of the nearby branches of DNRD.
Diesel queues have no end in sight
Diesel queues have no end in sight
THE NATIONAL July 07. 2008
Although petrol prices in the Emirates are among the lowest in the world, diesel prices at retailers other than Adnoc are among the highest. As a result, long queues of lorries have been forming outside Adnoc stations, where the pump price is less than half that of other fuel retailers. Drivers are waiting up to an hour to take advantage of cheaper fuel offered there and blocking traffic in the process.
Last month Dubai-based petrol retailers such as Emarat, Enoc and Eppco raised the price of diesel by 75 fils to Dh19.25 per gallon (US$5.24) while Adnoc’s has remained relatively constant at Dh8.60 (US$2.34). Unlike the Abu Dhabi-based Adnoc, the Dubai companies purchase fuel at international rates and thus are subject to the rising costs of crude. Over the past 18 months they have had to more than double the price they charge for diesel.
The long queues for the fuel at stations within Abu Dhabi’s city limits – which often spill onto busy streets – have created many problems, especially during the rush hour. Previous efforts to reduce the appeal of Adnoc’s diesel to lorry drivers have met with little success. When Abu Dhabi limited the amount of diesel that could be purchased to Dh50, lorry drivers simply drove off and rejoined the queue, exacerbating the problem. Now, on the advice of the road safety division of the traffic and patrols department, Adnoc stations in the city of Abu Dhabi will no longer sell diesel during rush hours.
Adnoc has 129 outlets in every emirate but Dubai – 80 of them outside Abu Dhabi. The same congestion problems have materialised in these emirates. In Sharjah, the police have begun fining drivers Dh400 for queueing along roads while limiting the sale of diesel to Dh100 to 300. Because of the lack of Adnoc stations, drivers are waiting up to three hours to be served, compounding the problem.
The situation is not sustainable, but the resolution will not be easy. While the congestion created is a genuine hazard that increases the likelihood of accidents, one must sympathise with transport companies struggling to remain profitable among numerous sky-rocketing costs. Nor can the Dubai-based companies, whose profits are being squeezed as a result of rising crude costs, be asked to keep their prices the same as Abu Dhabi’s. While the most obvious solution would be for Adnoc to build more stations throughout the UAE, that would amount to unfair competition with other suppliers.
What is clear is that the current measures do not address the root cause of the problem. As long as there is a significant price differential between Adnoc’s and the other companies’ fuel, there will be queues. Either Adnoc will have to raise its prices – highly unpopular – or provide its competitors with cheaper diesel – highly expensive. Even that will be difficult as Abu Dhabi’s refining capacity is under strain. There are likely to be queues for some time.
Bid to curb diesel sales
Bid to curb diesel sales
Matt Chung for THE NATIONAL July 07. 2008
ABU DHABI // Adnoc has been asked to restrict sales of diesel at its petrol stations on the island to reduce traffic congestion and accidents caused by vehicles queuing on main roads to take advantage of cheap prices.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company sells diesel for Dh8.60 (US$2.34) per gallon, less than half the cost of fuel at the Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emarat and Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco) stations in Dubai and the northern Emirates, where it costs Dh19.25 (US$5.24) per gallon.
The price of diesel in the northern Emirates is said to have increased by 58 per cent this year.
An increase in the number of vehicles using diesel has contributed to congestion and clogged right-hand lanes of roads near the petrol stations are causing more accidents, according to a report by the Abu Dhabi Traffic and Patrols department, seen by The National.
Lorry drivers say they can wait up to an hour to fill their tanks. At busy times, some stations are imposing limits on diesel sales, such as Dh50 or Dh100 per vehicle.
However, as some drivers merely leave the pump and rejoin the queue, this may have made congestion only worse.
“They gave a limit, but some people, they come back around,” said Imtiaz Khan, 32, a lorry driver who works for a construction company in Abu Dhabi.
The report recommended diesel should not be sold to lorries and buses on the island between 7am and 9am, 1pm and 3pm and 6pm and 9pm.
The department’s report says long-term solutions could include selling diesel only at stations outside the city, creating station entrances and exits away from main roads where possible and opening new stations only in areas where road safety can be guaranteed.
Some stations have already stopped selling diesel, which yesterday afternoon was not available at the Adnoc outlets on Airport Road between 11th and 13th streets.
Major Hussein al Harthi, the head of the traffic engineering and road safety section for Traffic and Patrols, said Adnoc had been asked to co-ordinate with traffic police when choosing new sites for stations and to modify entrances. Officers were being sent to petrol stations to manage vehicles entering and exiting stations and to break up lengthy queues. The most congested stations were at the intersection of Fourth and Al Saada streets, Airport Road near Zayed Sports City and Between Two Bridges, said the report.
Adnoc, which also has 49 petrol stations in the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah, Umm ul Quwain and Fujairah, has kept its diesel prices at Dh8.6, despite the sharp increase at other UAE petrol stations. Petrol prices, fixed at Dh6.25 per gallon for an octane rating of 95, have been steady since 2005.
The Ministry of Interior’s traffic department and Adnoc officials met in May to discuss limiting the sale of diesel to certain hours for lorries heavier than 2.5 tonnes and building diesel stations on main roads outside cities. Ghaith al Za’abi, the director of the ministry’s traffic department, said the department had also suggested Adnoc increase its number of diesel pumps.
The rise in the price of diesel has contributed to inflation by pushing up the cost of transporting food and daily commodities and the proposals would make it even more difficult for transport companies to obtain cheap diesel.
Adnoc stations in the northern Emirates stopped sales of diesel to lorries with Dubai licence plates last month and police have been handing out fines to vehicles queuing in Sharjah. Saudi Arabia has introduced fines of 5,000 riyals (Dh4,03) to stop its residents attaching second fuel tanks to their lorries.
Some drivers are selling their vehicles, fed up with the long queues and the rising prices. “It’s not economical any more,” said Hamdi Shehabeh, who recently sold his diesel Isuzu lorry. He said he remembered a time when it cost only Dh4.5 a gallon to fill his tank.
“Imagine what is happening with contractors who don’t have a choice and have to use diesel,” he said.
* With additional reporting by Hashim al Mohammed
ClicksandWrites 
You must be logged in to post a comment.