Judgement in India sets dubious precedent

I refer to Judges divide Ayodhya holy site (October 1). The much awaited court ruling in India on the decades old mosque and temple dispute has turned out to be a compromise formula. The court has apparently failed to issue a verdict based on the documents and historical facts. The ruling has, in fact, been influenced by the religious faith and sentiments of the majority community and the political ramifications in society, which makes Muslims feel that they have lost the case because of their minority status.

I fear that the way the Allahabad High Court observed and determined the birth place of Lord Rama just under the dome of the mosque by simply looking at the idols of the deity erected by a group of people in Ayodhya is giving a wrong signal to those who still claim that a scores of mosques across the country had been constructed at the site of temples.
Abdul Lateef Koladikkal, Abu Dhabi

Good drivers stay on the defensive

The majority of drivers in Abu Dhabi are bad drivers. They are extremely careless and blatantly disregard drivers who do follow the rules. Lane changing is done without signaling and with disregard to on-coming traffic. Tail-gating is a huge issue along with the mindless honking of horns. Plus don't get me started on the misuse of the roundabouts. How many times have you been in the middle lane of a three-lane roundabout with left signal on to indicate "I'm still in the circle, people" when the driver in the innermost lane cuts you off to exit? To all the good drivers out there, defensive driving is a must.
GH, Abu Dhabi

In reference to Car flips over in Dubai crash (September 21), these drivers will never learn. I think the only solution here is to have all the cars fitted with speed controllers which restricts a driver to speeds below 120 kph.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi

Reflections on Tamweel's moves I refer to the business article Tamweel begins to repossess (September 29). If Tamweel wants to take back the properties, I am sure almost all the buyers would give them back happily. And for Tamweel to be tighter on its lending, they need not worry. There may not be many takers even if they maintain the current standards. As for Dubai Islamic Bank increasing its stake in Tamweel, this could be good for Tamweel but bad for DIB.

In India, no bank is allowed to hold stakes like this because the fortunes of such holdings impact the bank which runs on public money and therefore a huge public interest is involved. While regulation in the property market is still in its infancy, plagued with teething problems, the fact is that all the properties were very highly priced which is the reason for the debacle.
Dr KB Vijayakumar, Dubai

First, regain trust of investors 

In reference to to the business article Nakheel confident debt plan will be finalised by the end of year (September 24), Nakheel has currently no communication with its customers on delayed projects. For example, in the Jumeirah Park project despite the project being delayed for more than a year after the committed delivery date, the investors have not been told when they can hope to get their villa.

This is regrettable as investors such as myself pay a huge amount of money on a monthly basis to the bank for a loan on my villa bought at Jumeirah Park. But Nakheel does not tell me when I can hope to get my villa.
Zaheer Albadawi, Dubai

Keep private schools private

With reference to Parents back ban on junk food at schools (September 24), when will governments understand that private schools are none of their business?

I send my son and daughter to a private school. I pay the school's annual fees to provide an education that I have bought into and more importantly an education that I have chosen. I chose to trust the people who run the school with my children's welfare. I have accepted the school's mission, vision, and management style. The government doesn't subsidise the fees I pay to the private school so why should it have a say in what my kids learn - health matters or otherwise?
Basel Shouly, Dubai

Improve traffic signal system

I refer to the article Commuters back, schools back ... and tailback (September 20). Most of the time, the lanes on many the roads of Abu Dhabi are empty. The traffic signal system remains totally inefficient, resulting in perhaps only one quarter of real capacity being available, as approaches stay green long after traffic has cleared.
Ford Desmoineaux, Abu Dhabi