nAtion 06
MusCAt DAilY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
trucks in residential areas cause concern
A MuscAt DAily cOluMNist
Results in life ChoiCe oR luCk? Kevin Abdulrahman
Residents are concerned of the danger posed to children by lorries parking in residential areas Kevin Abdulrahman is an in-demand leadership development and performance acceleration speaker and trainer about the answers. Until you have a crystal clear What do you want? image in your mind, you will find it tough to navMany go through life upset, disappointed and igate through life’s challenges in order to reach sad because they feel that they are not achieving. your destination. Every achiever and every winner They are simply not clear about what they want. is clear about what they want from the word go. Imagine it to be equivalent to driving a car not knowing where you want to go, and therefore I pose this question to you, grab a piece of whichever path you choose really makes no paper (or a couple) and write down your answers difference. to, “What do I want?” This could be who you Have you ever seen a marathon runner begin want to become, what you want to contribute to a race without knowing where the finish line is? your society, what you want to achieve, what you Have you ever tried to get a bull’s eye with want to have. It can be anything, it’s your life. Don’t expect to get it right and completed in your eyes closed and not knowing where the five minutes. In fact, this could take days, if not dartboard is situated? Many go through the world saying there is weeks of you constantly asking yourself, “What more to the life that they currently live. When I do I want?” and thinking it through. ask them if they know exactly what they want, the What you might have thought as important majority look at me with a blank may not be, and vice versa, now face. Some start to tell me a few WHAT DO YOU WANT? that you are thinking about it things they want to be, have, do seriously. You will come to a and give. However, it’s obvious within 30 seconds point where you know that you’re clear about or so that not many actually take the time to sit what you want. As you go through life, this vision can take a life of its own, with you the creator down and ask themselves a potentially life changof it, modifying it to suit what brings you the ing question, “What do I want?” The majority spend more time planning their summer holidays most happiness. or doing their hair in front of the mirror than they When you’re clear, you will move without hesdo planning their life, asking this very important itation. When you’re clear, you move with question. The images in their mind are hazy. A purpose. When you’re clear, challenges are nothhazy image in the mind is like going through a ing but cobwebs that go away as you bolt continuous desert storm in life. through. When you’re clear in your mind, you visualise reality. Many have an illusion of what they want, but You are in charge of your life. Find out what actually don’t know it for sure, because to do so, you want and set out to get it. requires them to have taken the time to actually Have a winning week. ask that question and spend some time thinking
You can e-mail him on kevin.abdulrahman@apexstuff.com
M Najmuz Zafar Muscat
Parking problems in Muscat are not new, but the latest one to bother residents is the overcrowding and encroachment of open spaces in residential areas by lorries. While Ghala often has many heavy tankers, this is to be expected as the area is home to warehouses and mechanical shops and is therefore likely to have heavy traffic and large vehicles parked up. Less explicable is why areas such as Azaiba and Ghubra, home to many affluent residential areas and commercial establishments, have long been subjected to this parking scourge. “I live in Azaiba, in an area where a big plot is lying vacant adjacent to our flat. This plot is being used by lorries and big tankers for parking. Many families live in our building . The children like to go out and play around in the parking lot and it gets quite dangerous with these heavy trucks always entering or exiting the area,” said resident Aftab Umar. He added that this also happens in a lot of other residential areas, as there are simply not enough open spaces to park these big lorries. “Why can't there be a designated area or spaces for parking such big vehi-
cles? Why is it that they have to find parking spaces in residential blocks? It is not only a health hazard, but also an eyesore because our area looks like a junk yard, as at times lorries are parked there for months.” Even areas such as Wadi Kabir and Muttrah are not spared as sewage tankers and other medium sized heavy goods vehicles fill up the parking spaces designated for cars or use any vacant plot adjacent to residential complexes. “I think it's a little intimidating to always see heavy trucks next to our building. It raises concerns of security for children who sometimes go out unaccompanied,” said Madhu
Kapske, who lives near the Lulu store at Darsait. There are also those who think that the Ghala area should be made more tourist-friendly, as at present it is full of heavy lorries and criss-crossed by dusty roads. Talal al Maskari, who runs a technical services company from Ghala, thought that it was an industrial area and that most people who visit Ghala, or stay in the hotels there, are on short business trips. “When we moved into the Ghala area it wasn't this crowded. But what can you expect when all the warehouses are located here,” he said, adding that previously multi-storey buildings were not allowed, but
now buildings can be constructed going up to 12 floors. This new development, he feels, will help the area grow into a commercial hub and attract many business properties that are at present thinking of relocating from the Ruwi commercial area. Muscat Municipality announced last week that it is considering constructing parking bays to overcome traffic jams caused by haphazard parking of vehicles all over the city. Chairing Muscat Municipality Council's fifth meeting in its fourth year, H E Eng Sultan Hamdoun al Harthy said that officials have conducted studies for constructing parking lots for taxis and other vehicles.
DAilY DileMMA
Lorry drivers are disturbing us night and day I am a resident of Azaiba and live behind Safeer Hypermarket. We have a serious issue which is a matter of great concern for all the residents of the area. For almost a month now we have noticed that forklift trucks, long trailers and heavy vehicles are being parked in an empty residential plot near our block of flats, which is next to Ministry of Legal Affairs.
The movement of heavy duty vehicles day and night, seven days a week, and constant parking beside our flats has reached the point where we are left with no choice but to bring this to the attention of the media and concerned authorities. It is a matter of worry, especially when it comes to ladies and young children, as the drivers of these lorries and trucks
sleep in their trucks and chitchat loudly while sitting outside their trucks. Due to their constant presence, we can’t even open our windows or our curtains, as our bedroom windows are exposed to the side where these drivers constantly move. Through your newspaper, I would like to bring to the attention of the ROP and Muscat
Municipality that being Omani ladies, our culture does not allow us to expose ourselves to this chaos. Therefore, I feel that the drivers must move to deserted areas where they can park their vehicles, rather than parking next to our houses where ladies and children reside or play outside. (Name withheld on request)
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