With the weather getting hotter, fewer people will be inclined to wait for the signal (Pedestrians risking their lives by running across road in front of Abu Dhabi Mall, May 10). And the area in front of Abu Dhabi Mall has been in a mess for at least five years.
Abdalla Ali Alsuwaidi, Abu Dhabi
Are those orange barriers supposed to be there for ever? Construction work never seems to end on that site.
Elpi Quiambao, Abu Dhabi
The area near Abu Dhabi Mall has not changed since I came to Abu Dhabi seven years ago. Roadworks have been going on for ages, causing a problem for pedestrians and drivers.
The condition of residents of the area is even worse as they have to bear with all this year after year, day after day.
Going to the area during peak hours is a nightmare. Because of this, small businesses have been suffering, too. People like me are even afraid of visiting Abu Dhabi Mall.
It’s time that the authorities paid more attention to the state of affairs in that area.
Anil Sood, Abu Dhabi
Put an end to littering culture
Is it more cost-effective to employ hundreds, maybe thousands, of workers to clear up rubbish that people leave behind on the streets without a thought than to distribute receptacles for litter at sensible intervals and penalise those who do not use them?
I walk frequently around the main commercial centre of Abu Dhabi and, quite frankly, am amazed by what I see. Cups, plastic bottles, used tissues, empty beverage cans, sweet wrappers and cigarette ends by the thousand.
The authorities are trying to beautify the city, but the planters and flower beds that they put in are becoming eyesores because of the rubbish that gets dumped in them with impunity.
Imposing stiff penalties for littering could actually provide a good source of income for the Government until such time as the public learn that littering does not pay.
Also, it would help if commercial office buildings were obliged to place strategically located ash/cigarette end receptacles outside their building and places where the office workers gather to indulge in their habit.
Also there are “pocket” ashtrays that people can use and avoid disposing of their butts on the streets and pavements of the city. We are approaching that time of year when littering becomes less of a problem.
Maybe it’s a good time to start a pilot project.
Jeremy Weeks, Abu Dhabi
Junk food not as bad as you think
What’s all this about fast food being a bad thing (How the western diet is the worst colonial export, May 8)? This is nonsense.
In most so-called developed societies in the West, there is an ageing population that by and large lives far too long. Their health care costs a fortune in later life, both to the individuals and to the state.
In the United Kingdom, half the cost of a person’s health care is consumed in the last two years of their lives.
It’s madness.
Obesity and fast food play a vital part in shortening lives and reducing the cost of looking after a vast army of elderly people, most of whom are infirm.
Debbie Welks, Abu Dhabi
