Abra service gathers pace in Sharjah

by KK Moidu

ABRAS are increasingly becoming a popular mode of transportation in Sharjah. The abra service, which started three decades ago in Sharjah’s, Al Mareija Corniche area, is the primary means of transportation between the two sides of the creek. Many people depend on the boat service for going to the Sharjah Court and Department of Sea Ports and Customs.
Rolla resident Abdul Wahab said, “I used Sharjah Abra for the first time for going to the court. It was very easy and comfortable than driving the car in traffic congested roads. Although I am a Sharjah resident for nearly a decade, I was not aware about the boat service.
“When I asked my friend working in a legal firm for the location of the court, he told me to use the boat service. I have a driving licence and own a car but I prefer boat service than driving. I parked my car near the Al Zahra Mosque and used the abra service to reach the other side. The abra service is time saving and if I go by road it will take an hour for going and coming back. If enough parking spaces are not available, then it will be another problem and I will go to the other side next time only on abra.”
Employees working on the other side in factories, oil companies and construction sites also utilise the water transport daily.
Many companies who have factories and sites on the other side drop their labourers near the mosque in the morning. These labourers cross the creek using the abra service. Buses pick them back in the evening.
Loading and unloading labourers are going up and down several times each day by using the abra. Talib from Pakistan, a loading and unloading worker said, “I go for work on the other side and use the abra service on a daily basis. If the boat service is not available here it will be very difficult for us to go for duty on the other side. Since I am a low-income earning loading worker, I can’t afford the huge amount for taxis.”
The boats pick passengers from Al Mareija Corniche area near the Al Zahra Mosque and drop on the other side in front of the Department of Sea Ports and Customs. More than 50 medium-sized single-engine craft with a capacity of more than 15 passengers are being operated by a single operator and are chugging up and down in day and night.
Around 1000 passengers are using the abra facility everyday and most of the drivers are from the sub-continent. The service is available round-the-clock. Although they work on alternate days, the boat drivers spend their full time in the boat in hot and cold weather conditions. They don’t rent rooms but eat and sleep in their boats.
Passengers are using the abra as an alternative to vehicles to reach the other side. Commuters prefer the abra service to reach the destination fast and save themselves from the traffic rush. The abra service not only saves time but also is economical.
The charge of the abra for a one-way trip is currently only one dirham and it takes less than five minutes to reach the destination.
The abra service in Sharjah was introduced nearly three decades earlier with a 25 fils fare and then doubled before twenty years as 50 fils. The new revised fare of one dirham was implemented in last November 2007.
Indian national Poonja Kera from Gujarat, Jamnagar, who is running the boat for the last five years, says, “I start my work at 4am in the morning and earn Dhs1,000 monthly after the diesel and sponsor fees. Around 15 trips on each working days costs Dhs80 for diesel and pays Dhs1200 to the owner of the boat every month.”
Another boat driver Indian National Bharath Raja from Gujarat, Jamnagar says, “I am operating the boat for the last six years. After the diesel expense, sponsor charge and food, the monthly saving is only Dhs500.”
“The number of boats are increasing but passengers are declining and that makes the situation worse. The boat services in this area are not used by tourists and the collection of public holidays and weekly off days are very less,” says Bharath.
The coast guards are monitoring the area all the time. They are fully equipped for providing immediate help in emergency conditions. The authorities conduct test of the engines and overall conditions of abra at the time of yearly renewal and make sure of the safety.
A grocery owner in the area said, “The area becomes busier during the evening from around 5pm to 7pm with passengers.” However, he is not benefitted from the abra service by getting more customers because his shop is not in front of the passenger picking point.

Children demand, parents adjust

Traders set to benefit as Ramadan, school reopening coincides

by KK Moidu

THOUGH parents are worried about the hiked school fees and high prices of school bags, water bottles, dresses and stationeries at the time of re-opening of schools, they are ready to compromise on their children's choices in school items.
Retail outlets, on their part, are gearing up with displays and shopping offers with their back to school promotions.
As a coincidence, the reopening of school and Ramadan, is together and hence the leading outlets in Sharjah like Ansar Mall, Al Falah Plaza, Al Wafa etc. all have plenty of offers for the customers.
The advertisers target school children and parents for buying items latest and popular. The students' choices of super heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, Barney, Ninja Turtles, Winnie and Barbie are visible on their school bags, lunch boxes and water bottles.
Ambika Rajan, a housewife and mother of two, said, "bags and water bottles were purchased with pictures of their favourite cartoon characters on them at the beginning of the academic year in April, but the children are now demanding new bags and water bottles with pictures of super heroes they happen to see with their friends. They also demand branded items to show their friends that they are using the best."
Muhammad Fawaz, a KG I student at Sharjah Indian School has his own choice for school bag and water bottle. He started his school at the beginning of this academic year with a branded bag bought from a shopping mall. Now at the time of reopening of the school he is asking for another new bag and a water bottle.
The reason: He didn't get his Spiderman backpack bag of his favourite colour last time because it was not available in the market. This time he wants to go to school with his newly purchased bag in his favourite colour and water bottle with the picture of his favourite cartoon character.
Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani housewife living in Sharjah for the last eight years came to the shopping centre to buy a bag, water bottle and stationary for her nine-year-old daughter who is studying in the fourth standard. She says, "prices of bags, water bottles and all other items have increased exorbitantly. The bag which I bought for Dhs35 two years ago now cost Dhs60 and the water bottle of Dhs12 is now Dhs19.
If I had known that the prices had gone up like this, I wouldn't have brought my children to the shopping mall. The children insist on buying items of their choice without knowing the high prices and I don't want to disappoint them."
She adds, "We are already affected by the high rent and the increased cost of living. This year Ramadan and school reopening are coming together and it will definitely affect the family budget."
Although most of the retailers have attractive back to school offers for the customers ranging from computer to colour pencil, the National Bonds', the Sharia-compliant national savings scheme of the UAE, recently launched back-to-school rewards programme is different and attractive.
If a bond holder makes a minimum investment of Dhs500 before Aug.31, in his/her child's name, he/she may win Dhs 50,000 worth of tuition fees.
Six year old Ayesha's parent says, "I deposited Dhs500 in National Bonds on my child's name. I was thinking earlier also to deposit in National Bonds because of more than 25000 attractive monthly prizes. The back to school rewards programme is an addition to the prizes and I used the opportunity by depositing in National Bonds on my child's name."
Although promotions and draws are fascinating people, yet everybody can't be a winner. Except few lucky ones, all others, especially the low and middle-income groups will have an expensive month ahead.

Road facelift changes traffic scene

KK MOIDU
The closure of Al Wahda Road for two years for the construction of road has virtually changed the scene of the locality. The motorists, residents and shop owners in the area are to face this situation for a specific period of time.
According to reports more than 200,000 vehicles were passing each day on Al Wahda Road and it is one of the busiest road in the United Arab Emirates.
Although authorities have arranged alternate diversions and installed new traffic signals in the area for the convenience of motorists, it is not enough to control the huge traffic. Some drivers' ignorance of the traffic rules may create problems.
The King Abdul Aziz Road was partially closed a couple of months back, and the residents in the surroundings as well as the motorists used the Al Wahda road as an alternative. The situation has changed after the closure of Al Wahda Road. The residents and motorists are unanimously complaining about the traffic congestions.
The closure of Al Wahda Road has increased the traffic rush in other areas like Al Qassimiya Roundabout (Old Spinney's Roundabout aka Mobile Roundabout), Al Khan Bridge and Mothercat Bridge. However the rush in Al Ittihad Road has decreased and the people staying in Al Nahdah and Al Taawun areas is enjoying a traffic free drive.
Sajeevan, a Sharjah resident, said, "Earlier I was taking half-an-hour from Gold Centre signal to Kuwait roundabout (Etisalat Roundabout) and now it took me more than one-and-a-half hour. Because the vehicles coming from industrial areas and alternative diversions of Al Wahda Road increases the traffic in the Al Qassimiya Roundabout. "It is a vacation time, and the traffic situation may not be so easy once the people will return after vacation and the school will re-open within a couple of weeks," says Sajeevan.
Mary Fernandez working in Dubai and living in King Faisal Street Sharjah said, "I reach upto Al Khan bridge in Sharjah without much traffic hurdle but the rush started after the beginning of Al Wahda and long queue of vehicles were in the mother cat bridge to reach King Faisal Road. It took me a long time to reach in my house after the closure of Al Wahda Road."
People leave early from their home and return late in the evening from their workplace. Most of the people living in Sharjah are working in Dubai, because of the high rent in Dubai compared to Sharjah. Although they are forced to spend their valuable time on the road, low and middle income earners are forced to choose Sharjah as their living place.
Sharjah located in the centre of the United Arab Emirates and people from northern Emirates like Ajman, UAQ, RAK, Fujairah are using Emirates road to reach in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for fear of the rush in Al Wahda Road.
However, a resident staying in Al Wahda near Liberty signal said, "She has to walk from the liberty signal to King Faisal Road to take a taxi to go to her office in Al Khan. Since I didn't usually join the morning rush hour and leaves home between 9.30am and 10am everyday, I had not been trapped in a traffic snarl which I noticed was too heavy on Saturday morning, the first working day after the closure of Al Wahda Road. She adds, otherwise it has been smooth-sailing so far up almost zero traffic to her office on Al Khan Road."

Gold glitters as prices plunge

BY KK MOIDU
BY KK MOIDU
PLUNGING prices of gold
have helped retailers see an
increase in the sale of the
yellow metal. The price of
22 carat gold is Dhs 88.75
and 24 carat is 94.25.
A price decrease of
Dhs15 compared to last
year’s lowest price is attracting
budget-conscious
buyers.
Jewellery outlets in
Sharjah were crowded during
the weekend evenings
and more people were seen
buying gold.
Basheer TA, salesman of
Atlas Jewellery Sharjah,
Gold Centre branch said:
“The sale of gold ornaments
has increased more than 50
per cent after the sudden
decrease in the price charts.
For the last few days the
price of gold is reducing everyday.
The low income
groups from India and Pakistan
are utilising this
golden opportunity to buy
ornaments.”
A sudden steep fall in
the price of gold is rare and
people are considering it as
an apt opportunity to go
for their sought-after models.
“Although our sales promotion
started in June
2008, the sales volumes
were not good last month
because of high gold prices,”
says Basheer TA.
“But after the price of
gold started plunging, more
and more customers are
coming.”
The high price of gold
along with increased cost of
living had discouraged
many low-income groups
from buying jewellery. Only
the much-needed people
were opting for it.
Yousuf PK, a Keralite
from the Southern part of
India, said; “I am buying
gold for my daughter’s marriage
in December. I will be
going on leave for Eid Al
Fitr in the end of September
2008, but I am buying
gold because I fear the price
will again go up.”
Liyaqat Ali from Pakistan,
who was purchasing
gold ornaments for his wife,
said: “For the last couple of
years, I didn’t buy gold because
it was unaffordable. I
do not want to wait more
time because there are various
reasons behind the
gold price ups and downs
like oil and dollar. The price
of gold ten years before was
around Dhs30 per gramme
and now the price is nearly
Dhs90 per gramme. I think
after sometime the price of
gold will again increase and
that is why I am buying
now.”
Shameema Muhammed,
a housewife from Kerala,
said: “I did not buy gold last
time when I went for vacation
because of the high
prices, but now I can afford
it. I went to the jewellery
shop last week in The Gold
Centre Sharjah and the big
rush in shop made me postpone
my purchase. But the
price has come down again
for the last few days and I
am buying gold for cheaper
price than my friends purchased
last week.”

Boys turn any place into playing ground

BY KK MOIDU
Lack of sufficient number of playgrounds in some localities virtually compels the sportsmen to depend on residential areas as their makeshift grounds. Yarmouk area in Sharjah is one of the favourite places for amateur cricket and football players. Most of the residents in Yarmouk area belong to low and middle-income groups.
Even in the hot weather condition, the enthusiastic youngsters and teenagers play their favourite games both in the afternoon on weekends and in the evening on weekdays.
Residents of these areas are worried that some of the sportsmen are utilising the areas as their playgrounds, especially for cricket. Playing a game like cricket, the bat-and-ball sport contested by two teams in residential areas have dangerous consequences for both the families of the area, as well as the parked cars.
Shanavas living with family in this area said, "I am not against those who play cricket or any other game, but they are playing cricket in residential areas with traditional cricket ball. Many time the children were hit by the cricket ball."
"Since there is not enough players available, there won't be much people for fielding and the chances of hitting the ball on public and parked vehicles are more," says the concerned parent.
Anjana Rajan, a school student said, "We used to ride our bicycles on the surroundings in the evening. Now we are helpless, because one area is engaged by the cricket players and the other area by footballers."
"We don't have much troubles from football players. But if we enter the area where players are playing cricket, they shout at us. She had also been hit by the cricket ball several times," says Anjana.
Beena Thomas, a housewife in the area said, "She spends some time in the evening with her friends outside their building with an occasional walk, and the children play in the surroundings. One day while she was trying to stop her three-year-old son from entering the area where cricket was being played, the cricket ball knocked at her face." She explains that the ball first hit the ground and then her face, then also she suffered giddiness.
Lakshmi Govindan, who lives in the ground floor of a building said, "Several times the balls reached in the flat's balcony. The players enter the balcony and take the ball without any permission." As the flat is in the ground floor of the building, the children cannot sit inside the house peacefully in the evenings. She also said once the ball even reached the kitchen and spoiled their food. The glass window was open at that time, otherwise it would have broken the glasses of the window.
"Players remain fully concentrated in their games and they do not worry about children and cars around them," says Gangadharan, a resident of Yarmouk, by showing his car damaged by balls. Nowadays, he parks his car on the other side of the building to avoid further damages to the car. He added, "This has happened to other cars as well."

Irresponsible parking leaves car owners helpless

KK Moidu
IMPERFECT parking of vehicles by some drivers cause problems for many, who are already fed up with fewer parking space. Wrong parking is also a finable offense. Yet careless drivers park their vehicles close to other vehicles without leaving enough space for the driver to get into his parked car.
Although authorities have marked the paid parking and free parking areas with enough space for each car, a few drivers don't pay any attention to these stipulations, especially in the free parking areas.
If the vehicles are parked wrongly in the paid parking zone the authorities will impose fines on the violators. But the free parking areas are not monitored regularly and without any complaints chances of fines are rare.
Thomas Sebastian, an Indian national working as a marketing executive in a private company said, "several times I have encountered the problem of getting into my car because of irresponsible parking of vehicles close to my car. If it happens in the daytime, I could wait for the driver hoping that he would be back after a while. It can be worse at night that one cannot even wait hoping for the driver's return."
However, Thomas solves the problem by entering the car through the other door.
Sadanandan, a Sharjah resident working in Dubai says, while coming back after the work he finds most of the parking spaces are occupied and some cars are parked wrongly, in parallel, perpendicular or in angle. These erroneous way of parking often occupies space for two vehicles. "I don't understand what kind of pleasure they get from this wrong doing, which gives only troubles to others," Sadanandan says.
He also said some two-wheelers also misuse parking spaces by parking motorcycles in the centre of the parking boxes.
The situation in open grounds are also not any better.
Even when enough parking spaces are available, some drivers park their cars blocking the entry itself.
Some others park their cars without leaving space for the other parked cars to come out.
Irresponsible parking behind parked vehicles is common in Sharjah. Most of the drivers have often faced this problem.
A Sharjah resident working as a nurse in a hospital in Dubai said, seeing a car parked behind her vehicle at 5am one day literally shocked her. She could not take her car and had to hire a taxi to reach her working place on time. MM Kutty, a resident of Al Nahda area, working in Dubai said, many times he found difficulty in taking out his car from the parking because of other vehicles parked behind his car.
Although the public can inform the police if any vehicle is found wrongly parked, blocking the movement of the car in front, many don't use the facility for fear of inviting the wrath of the offender.

Hitmaker teams with superstar

BY KK MOIDU

Eminent director Lal Jose isin the UAE for the discussionsof his upcoming filmCousins, which is based onthe script of Dr Iqbal Kuttippuram.
Dubai basedhomeopathic practitionerDr Iqbal and Lal Jose havemade superhit Arabikkathain the recent past.
The audience expectationsare all time high in thereunion of sought-after directorLal Jose and popularscenarist Iqbal Kuttippuramafter almost a year with protagonistsMohanlal andPrithviraj in the male leads.
Lal Jose features superstar Mohanlal for the firsttime, and youngsters’ heartthrobPrithviraj is joiningwith Mohanlal for the firsttime in Cousins.
Jose, whois always very careful not tobe stereotyped, tells afarmer’s story in Cousins.
“The film revolves aroundtwo cousins and their specialattachments,” Jose said.
Mohanlal and Prithvirajplay the two cousins role inthe film.
These two are theonly living members in theirfamily.
All others in the familydied in an accident andthese cousins keep a speciallove in their relations.
A newcomer will composemusic for the film.
Since the two leading actorsof the industry play prominentroles, the film will featuretwo heroines, and oneof them will be a new face.
Lal Jose made his directorialdebut with superstarMammootty in Oru MaravathoorKanavu a decadeago.
Lal Jose is a master incrafting superhit films andhe knows what clicks withthe audience.
His MeesaMadhavan and Classmatescatapulted young actorsDileep and Prithviraj tosuper stardom.
These filmshave the highest collectionrecords in the history ofMalayalam cinema and theracy narration made him afront-line director of the industry.
However, Lal Jose’s previousfilm Mulla didn’t dowell at the box office.
Josesaid the film was doing goodbusiness for the first weekand one of the TV channels’wrong assessment affectedthe collections.
He added,“The media sometimeskeeps silent on bad films oftheir favourites.
”Lal Jose is presentlybusy with his maiden Tamildirectorial venture MazhaiVara Pokuthu featuringDaniel Balaji in the lead.
After completing the Tamilfilm, Jose will start thework of his new filmCousins.

More heat, more accidents

Proper vehicle maintenance need of the hour
BY KK MOIDU
AS SUMMER reaches its peak, cautious driving and special care for vehicles becomes very essential for preventing accidents, according to experts.
During the warm weather people should make sure that their vehicles engine, tyres and cooling systems are in proper condition.
Checking tyre pressure, coolant, changing oil, oil filters, air filters, belts, brake pads, brake fluids in time and careful driving in heat are recommended by experts.
Heat can destroy batteries, stress the cooling system and tires in warm weather.
The roads and the engines get heated up excessively, the mental stress of the drivers becomes too much thereby increasing the possibility of accidents in summer.
Although overspeeding, neglecting traffic rules and reckless driving are counted as the main reasons for accidents.
Other factors like danger of getting engine fire, tyre burning, broken windshields are some among the other risks of vehicles in peak summer.
The drivers should check the temperature of the vehicle and drive with concentration, that can prevent many accidents.
Mehmood, who is handling motor for the last 17 years in an Insurance Company said tyres related and windshield damages claim increases in summer.
Tyres keep everything on the road and the high temperatures put added stress on them.
The heat causes the pressure within a tyre to rise and it gets blast claims for new vehicles are very frequent in summer, he added.
Manosh Puthalath, the owner of Al Tasmeyah Auto Maintenance Work Shop in Sharjah said, “One of the main reasons for vehicle accident and breakdown in summer is radiator problems.
The cooling system works harder in summer than other climate to prevent overheating of the engine.
” According to Manosh, radiator cleaning and changing the damaged hoses connecting the radiator to the engine are the must for the smooth working of cooling system effectively.
He added that several vehicles are coming to the workshop with the complaints of cooling system in hot temperatures.
Proper care and maintenance of the vehicle, careful driving in summer reduce the number of accidents and safeguard the vehicles.

Kismat Konnection to premiere in Dubai

BY KK MOIDU

SHAHID Kapoor and Vidya Balan starrer Kismat Konnection will premiere in Grand Cineplex, Dubai on Wednesday. The male lead of the film Shahid Kapoor, heroine Vidya Balan and director Aziz Mirza will grace the function.
The emotional and beautiful love-story Kismat Konnection is produced by Ramesh S Taurani under the banner of Tips Films and the premiere event in Dubai is hosted by Star Plus Middle East and UTV Motion pictures.
Shahid Kapoor, who
has delivered solo hits like
Vivaah and Jab We Met,
plays the role of Raj Malhotra
in Mirza’s latest directorial
venture Kismet
Konnection. Raj, the best student-of-the-year trophy winner from college is still struggling to find that One Big Chance to showcase his mettle even after four years of his degree in architecture.
Aziz Mirza, who previously directed hit films like Yes Boss, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Chalte Chalte among others with front line hero Shah Rukh Khan is casting young hero Shahid Kapoor in the lead role for the first time.
One of Bollywood leading women Vidya Balan also first time pairing opposite Shahid in the film as a tough talking and stubborn girl as Priya, the lucky charm of the hero.
Former Bollywood heroine Juhi Chawla plays the role of a gypsy fortune-teller as Hasina Bano Jaan with typical colourful costumes. Om Puri also plays a pivotal role in the film.
Major portion of the film is pictured in Toronto, Canada and Mumbai. The music of the film composed by Pritam Chakraborty is on top of the charts. Shahid’s dance track ‘Aye Paapi’ (Tu Hai Meri Soniye) sung by Neeraj Shridhar has already won the hearts of youths.
Kismet Konnection with director Mirza’s tender humour, Pritam’s mind blowing music and super performance of crowdpulling hero Shahid Kapoor will definitetly ring the cash registers at the box office.
Kismet Konnection will hit the UAE screens on Thursday and world wide on July 18th Friday.
Star Plus will air behind the scenes making of episode on July 19 at 6pm and will repeat on July 26 at 6pm. The lead cast of the film will share their experiences and anecdotes on the making of the film.