Why is our city not clean enough?

Readers say our city should be kept clean. Other topics: education, rational thinking, mental illness

Reader wonder why it’s so difficult to keep Abu Dhabi clean. Ravindranath K / The National

It is sad that Abu Dhabi, with such advanced infrastructure, is not so clean (Overflowing rubbish on Abu Dhabi streets poses health risk, February 10). Look around and you will see cigarette butts on the street, plastic wrappers flying around, teacups left around, cats thriving on leftovers on the roadside, plastic bottles thrown out of cars and what not. Add to that the stench from the rubbish bins and the places where they are kept.

Only strict implementation of the littering law can solve the problem.

I was astonished to see that Colombo, which does not get much capital investment for such services, has clean streets and pavements.

Name withheld by request

I think this problem is faced by residents of almost all neighbourhoods in Abu Dhabi, although in some of them it’s more acute. In my area, the rubbish bins are always overflowing. I complained to the municipality a couple of times, after which the bins were cleared and the surrounding area cleaned regularly for some time. But again it came back to normal.

Sometime ago, the municipality replaced the open bins with the covered ones. They remained in place for a brief period after which they were again replaced by the open ones. I do not understand why it is so difficult for the municipality to keep these areas cleaned.

I often see workers going around collecting rubbish such as plastic bags, bottles and other things that are strewn around. They can only do this much.

Given the amounts of rubbish being collected in those bins every moment, there needs to be a system where they are emptied quickly.

At the same time, people who litter need to be fined heavily. This is not a difficult task. I fail to understand why such things are still not happening in this place.

Deep Saranya, Abu Dhabi

We need biggest university

I think the UAE can become the number one country in the world within 10 years if it can establish the world’s biggest university that will offer world-class education and courses ranging from robotics to linguistics. If we can make it a reality, the world will come to us. Although we have the world’s best infrastructure, it is not enough to lead the world.

Abdul Rahim Onath, Sharjah

Remove stigma on mental issues

Depression and anxiety are real and potentially debilitating things (Mental health sufferers in UAE tell of barriers they face and lack of support, February 8). Unfortunately, I think there is a huge stigma attached to being depressed or having anxiety, so people are reluctant to get help.

Jesep Mahesh, Dubai

Children must think rationally

Omar Ghobash was right that Muslim children should not be afraid to ask questions simple questions about religion (Omar Ghobash tells young Muslims it's all right to question, February 12).

I think it’s more important that ever as the world has reached a critical stage, where people need to think practically and scientifically.

We have countless examples of how blind faith affects us negatively.

The educated generation should not allow that to happen and encourage their children to think and act rationally. As the world evolves, so should our ideas and beliefs.

Aliya Khan, Dubai