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Green firms miffed at being shown the exit
Green firms miffed at being shown the exit Staff Reporter / 4 October 2013 Thirty-five exhibitors of ‘green companies’ who had come together to promote eco-friendly products at a mall in Dubai were allegedly shown the door by a manager. Ten days ago it was confirmed that Goumbook — an online green business directory in the Middle East — would host the event called Future Green for the fourth consecutive year. Goumbook had partnered with the mall to host Future Green 2013 on Thursday and today. The Eco-friendly products that were on display before the exhibitors were asked to leave the mall. — Supplied photo Future Green is an exhibition designed to promote environmental awareness and eco-friendly products and services, supporting eco-wise consumer behaviour and sustainable living in the UAE. This event had 35 exhibitors for two hours on day one before the chaos started. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Owner and Managing Director at Goumbook-your green connection, said: “It was him, one person who insulted us, called this ‘worse than a carboot sale in the UK’, and said to the exhibitors that your products are not up to the standard to be sold in a mall.” The art and craft products up on display, as well as all other products and exhibitors were selected by Goumbook and were certified eco-friendly products and services covering different categories, including Food & Beverage, Home & Garden, Health & Wellbeing, Beauty, Business & Technology, and Environmental Science. The exhibitors were doing good business in the two hours that they were up for. The suppliers told Abella they were selling their wares even a little while after the tables were taken away. The manager was, however, not available for comments. One company, ‘6 am Babies’, wrote online: “Very disappointed that the Future Green event was cancelled midway due to management’s last-minute change of heart! Thank you for Goumbook-your green connection for handling it very professionally … we look forward to joining you in the next event you organise! The power of social media kicked in when the manager came back and told Tatiana she could have her stalls back if the tweets stopped. “But he did not apologise,” she said. And so a two-day event that had gathered publicity in the last fortnight and won the support of three dozen exhibitors was unceremoniously canned. A lady was stranded at the mall with her wares, as her husband from Ras Al Khaimah had planned to pick her up only later in the evening. — nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Crackdown on illegal structures launched
Crackdown on illegal structures launched Nissar Hoath / 3 October 2013 The Municipality of Abu Dhabi has launched a new campaign to do away with makeshift structures that create unhygienic living conditions for people in the city and its suburbs. The campaign is aimed at bringing an end to appurtenances made to residential villas and apartments as well as commercial buildings in the Capital, without permission, which do not comply with decent living conditions. “For any modification of an accommodation unit there is a legal procedure…people must get the prior permission from the authorities concerned…These acts without permission are illegal,” said Owaida Al Qubaisi, Acting Executive Director of Municipal Services Sector at the Municipality. Launched by the Municipality in collaboration with the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police in mid-September at Baniyas, Wathba, Shamkha and Shawamekh, the campaign has covered about 4,000 quarters, with 645 warnings issued so far. Al Qubaisi further explained: “The campaign also highlights the importance of adhering to the prescribed health stipulations and laws governing such activities, and guaranteeing a specific work mechanism based on the powers granted to the inspection teams, as well as the laws and regulations governing these procedures. “As per the law, the offenders will be issued an initial written warning with a grace period to remove the offence”, he said. Al Qubaisi said the objective of staging these campaigns is to enhance the compliance with the provisions of Law No (1) for 2011 regulating the occupancy of residential units in the Abu Dhabi Emirate along with its Executive Regulation. In cooperation with the bodies concerned, the Municipality is continuing these campaigns and the enforcement of judicial rulings issued in respect of villas and buildings in breach of the building code throughout Abu Dhabi and is taking appropriate measures including the demolition and removal of offences. With high demand for properties, but short supplies, Abu Dhabi City is now one of the most expensive cities with a huge number of low-income workers who cannot afford to own apartments, thus are forced to go for sharing accommodation units that are set up illegally. Taking advantage of the situation, many unscrupulous people hunt for old buildings, take them on annual contract and turn them into big colonies for low-income bachelors. “A decent apartment of two bedrooms is available for families from Dh50,000 to Dh70,000 a year. But the same apartment in an old building is worth from Dh100,000 to Dh200,000,” said a Pakistani male bachelor, identifying himself as Musa, who shares a room with six others. He said he pays Dh1,000 a month for his bed-space. “In our two bedroom plus hall apartment, we are 22 people. The building is very old with the elevator out of action most of the time. This is the cheapest place we could afford in Abu Dhabi City. We cannot go and live in the outskirts of the city as we work here in the city,” he added. Similar grievances were expressed by a female bachelor from Philippines, who said she lives in a single bedroom plus hall apartment with 18 other female co-workers. “The apartment is provided by our company and has been partitioned to help accommodate us all. We have one bathroom a kitchen and find it very difficult to manage,” said the woman, identifying herself as Maria. nissar@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Abu Dhabi to begin work on Dh7.4b highways
Abu Dhabi to begin work on Dh7.4b highways Staff Reporter / 30 September 2013 The Department of Transport (DoT) will soon commence the construction of new Mafraq-Ghuwaifat and Abu Dhabi-Dubai highways with a budget of Dh7.4 billion. The announcement comes following the approval by the Executive Council during its recent meeting presided over by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Council. The Council authorised the DoT to appoint contractors to execute both projects. The 327 kilometres Mafraq-Ghuwaifat main road is expected to be accomplished by 2017 and extends it Mafraq to the international border linking the UAE with Saudi Arabia in Ghuwaifat. It also passes through the Industrial Centre in Ruwais and some tourist and commercial locations in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. About 80 kilometres of this road linking Baynounah Forest (East of Ruwais with Baraka to the west of Ruwais towards Silaa) was built in 2011. The project, parallel to the existing highway, encompasses constructing four new lanes in each direction from Mafraq to Baraka. Then, three lanes in each direction, but the road will expand to four lanes in each direction in the 22 kilometres closest to the borders with Saudi Arabia. In addition, the new road will be raised to avoid undesired impacts of underwater whilst helping drain rainwater and boost the road capacity to withstand the expected increase of number of vehicles. The road median has been designed to accommodate two future lanes in each direction, if needed. The project will also see the construction of (15) new upper interchanges with different engineering designs in Musaffah, Al Dhafra, ICAD, Tarif, Al Mirfa East and Al Mirfa West. Existing interchanges in Mafraq, Hamim, Abu Al Abbyad, and Madinat Zayed will also be modified. Mafraq-Ghuwaifat main road will encompass layby(s) (rest stops/side parking) on each direction for both light vehicles and heavy trucks as well as areas for ambulance, police vehicles, petrol stations and weight station. There will be a shoulder on the right of both directions for emergencies, a fence to protect road users and new sustainability-approved and energy-saving road lightening systems will be made. Concurrently, the DoT also unveiled that it is gearing up for the new Abu Dhabi-Dubai (E311) main road of 62 kilometres costing Dh2.1 billion. The project, parallel to existing Abu Dhabi-Dubai (E11) main road, extends from Mohammed bin Zayed Road in Seih Showaib through Al Maha Forest and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) and will join up at the Suweihan Road (E20). The road is also expected to be accomplished by 2017. This project aims to alleviate traffic congestion on the current main road connecting Abu Dhabi to Dubai (E11), as studies show that traffic will go up from 700 vehicles per hour at peak time to more than 12,000 vehicles in 2030. For optimal road safety, the new Abu Dhabi-Dubai main road will feature four lanes in each direction; two shoulders on both right sides of the road and the wide median is designed for a staged upgrade and future expansion if needed. Six upper interchanges will be built. To ensure maximum safety, the new main road will come with a rainwater drainage system and will benefit from ample lighting system at night which follows best sustainable standards of reducing energy consumption. -news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
