Traffic Management

This refers to P.K. Abdul Ghafour article ‘Accidents cost SR 26 bn a year’, which might have caught the attention of many readers like me. I am really very much anxious over the statistics and data presented there in.

I have the statistics report of Traffic Police about the road accidents, where according to report the road accidents rate in the Kingdom, is growing by approximately 11% annually. If concrete measures are not undertaken to reduce the accidents cases, then ten years with the above accident growth rate, the number of accident 485,931 of last year might reach almost 1,300,000 annually, which is approximately three folds of the existing figures.

There is a need therefore to look forward, a better and concrete measure, to be taken by the concerned authorities. The major root cause of the accident should at any cost be studied and I think the Traffic Management can play a major role in this direction, by investigating the major root causes of the accident and concentrating on the preventive actions rather than the corrective measures.

Traffic Management can reduce the number of accidents also through awareness campaign and promoting traffic safety and by looking on the possibilities of constructing roads and highways in the Kingdom based on the accident statistics and black spot areas. Conducting research and development to reduce the number of accidents and to reduce the risk evolved will be other measures in this direction.

Further the Traffic Management should run some programs like the training workshop and awareness session to public and business institution and individuals to increase the awareness of the citizen. This way we can check the accident explosion and save thousands of valuable lives, billions of money and time consumed in handling those accident cases.

M. Salman Siddiqui, Riyadh published 5 July 2009

Mismanagement at Indian school

This refers to Arab News report, “Indian school teachers walk out to press for salary raise” (June 30). Facts and figures show that the International Indian School Riyadh (IISR) managing committee and those at the helm squandered the school’s funds. First of all, those managing the school should bear in mind that it is a community school. IISR was set up and promoted by selfless community members in 1982 with the sole aim of providing a good education to their children. Most of the parents of IISR children belong to middle and lower-middle income groups. Though there are many schools for higher income groups in Riyadh, there is only one community school — IISR. The managing committee should realize that they should not in any way burden the parents. Unnecessary expenditures do put strains on the school’s budget. The first priority should have been revision of salaries of the staff and improving the standard of education.

In 2004, the school management invited tenders for construction of its own building. They planned because they had enough funds and they wanted to do away with the high rent they were paying for the school building. But, to everyone’s surprise the then Managing Committee Chairman and Principal Manzar Jamal Siddiqui announced that there was no fund and that the school was on the brink of closure. The managing committee had squandered all the money on wasteful expenses.

As per the audit report, the school earned a profit of more than SR2.3 million until March 31, 2008. It is interesting to note that the school that was set up on the basis of “no profit no loss” is making so much profit. But despite that, parents are made to pay for a lot of things.

Each student is charged SR60 as computer lab fee although most of the students never go to these so-called computer labs. Every student is also made to pay SR50 for extra classes that are taken during school time and by the same teachers. In short, parents are made to pay for everything. I would like the concerned authorities to take appropriate action against those exploiting parents in the name of education.

Mohammed Azmatullah Shareef, By e-mail published 5 July 2009

Threat to noble values

Through the most retrograde verdict on July 2 declaring section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (which punishes unnatural sex) as violating the fundamental freedom of “gays,” the honorable judges of the Delhi High Court have unfortunately made a significant contribution to expediting the ongoing phase of India’s “cultural catastrophe.” If the morally debased and sexually perverted people can be called a “sexual minority,” and, therefore, entitled to the elimination of all legal barriers to their debauchery, time is not far off when they may claim the constitutional right to make the demonstration of their heinous crimes at street corners, and the judges such as A.P. Shah and S. Muralidhar may not hesitate to concede to their request.

Homosexuality is prohibited in all religions of the world. These acts of immodesty are a slur on the rich cultural heritage of India, which as a single entity, represent a composite national creed. One is astonished that Indian Muslim scholars have reacted to the Delhi High Court Judgment in a myopic manner as if the legalization of homosexuality were the negation of Islamic mandates only. It is a national offense. It is a crime against humanity. If, in the West, it has been legalized, it is against their basic cultural ethos and religious scripts. The church has always condemned it in totally unequivocal language.

In India it is not the question of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh or Parsi culture, but it is the question of the magnificent structure of the grand edifice of the country’s ancient heritage which must not be allowed to be spoiled by gays and lesbians.

All Indians are in dire need of constructive cooperation for the sake of their country’s heritage, for the sake of their children, for the sake of womanhood, and above all for the sake of those distinctive values for which India is still known as the fountainhead all over the world.

Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, Lucknow, India published 5 July 2009

Babri Mosque issue

The much-awaited Liberhan Commission Report has finally been submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Let’s hope this report is not dumped like other reports submitted by previous commissions.

It is an opportunity for the present government to restore India’s image, which was tarnished due to the demolishing of the Babri Mosque. It is also the right time for the government to show its respect for the mandate it got, especially from Muslims in the recent elections. The government should act swiftly to punish those found guilty without politicizing the issue. The then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao promised to rebuild the demolished Babri Mosque and now it is time to fulfill that promise.

Not bringing to justice the people responsible for destroying the mosque will shatter the confidence of minorities in government. I appeal to all the country’s Muslim leaders to unite, end their differences and persuade the country’s secular leaders to force the government to try those involved in the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

Mohammed Abbas Khan, Jeddah published 5 July 2009

Palin’s resignation

Defeated Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has announced that she will resign as governor of Alaska and not run for re-election. Her term of office was due to end in 2010. It is reported that she was popular in the early part of her governorship but her approval rating dropped tremendously following her unsuccessful vice-presidential bid. Time magazine reports that if she decides to run for future office, Palin will face the challenge of explaining to voters why she should be president of the United States despite serving less than three of the four years of her elected term as Alaska’s governor and spending months of her second year as governor running for vice president.

The simple truth is that even die-hard Republicans thought she was not competent to be the governor of Alaska, let alone vice president of the United States. If she is really serious about a presidential bid in 2012, it will be a big mistake on her part. We all remember the silly things she said during the campaign, giving ammunition to various talk show anchors.

S.H. Moulana, Riyadh published 5 July 2009