AJMAN // Residents in Al Subigha in Ajman have demanded the intervention of the Ministry of Water and Environment to reduce pollution caused by local quarries.
Residents say that they are paying a high price in terms of their health and revenue due to the problem, reported Al Ittihad, The National's Arabic-language sister newspaper.
According to reports, the situation has gotten worse since they stopped being notified about the timing of explosions, preventing them from taking necessary preventive measures.
Ajman’s municipal office in Mesfawt confirmed that it was notifying inhabitants of the dates and times of explosions and that quarries are operating from 2pm to 10pm.
Umm Abdullah, an Emirati, said that inhabitants in the area previously received notifications 24 hours before the explosions, but quarries are now using explosives at random times and without sending out notifications. There is concern for children and the elderly in particular following a recent incident where a child ended up with multiple leg fractures as a stone from his family’s house fell on him after an explosion.
“Our houses have suffered from recurrent explosions and are now dilapidated and we do not have sufficient money to perform yearly maintenance works,” she said.
“Quarries are only three kilometres away from Al Subigha and we suffer from the constant dust emanations, day and night, around the clock,” said another Emirati resident.
“The dust constitutes a fog that surrounds the residential area and when the weather is at its worse, it leads to reduced visibility.”
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara