SHARJAH // With several projects under way and the promise of new developments in the pipeline, Sharjah residents say they are proud of the multibillion-dirham transformation taking place in their emirate.
Mohammed Al Kaabi, an Emirati who owns two stalls in the Al Jubail fish market, said plans for the new market incorporating both the old fish bazaar and fruit and vegetable mart would help grow his business.
“I am already preparing to move into the new market once it opens and these new projects are also all very promising,” he said.
As part of the newest development plan – approved last week with a price tag of Dh1 billion – a new road will be constructed near the mega-produce market and 450 new parking spaces will be built in front of the market. The road is expected to alleviate pressure on the route between Abu Shagara Tunnel and Sharjah Bridge.
The Dh1bn development plan was approved Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, the Ruler of Sharjah, on April 30. It aims to make it easier to navigate the emirate’s congested roads.
Mr Al Kaabi said he used to be a fisherman, but that his business had grown along with the country. “We are grateful for all these developments,” he said. “It makes us proud people.”
The new market and its nearby roadworks are only two of many projects the emirate’s Public Works department has undertaken recently.
Since last year, the department says about Dh4bn has been allocated to various projects. These include construction of more main and internal roads and the Dh500 million renovation of existing bridges. Another Dh1.7bn has been allocated for the construction of government buildings in the emirate.
“Dr Sheikh Sultan is committed to improving the lives of people in the emirate through these ambitious development projects,” said Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, head of the Sharjah Directorate of Public Works.
He said work on the Dh1bn roadworks plan would begin soon. The first phase involves turning one of the emirate’s most important traffic routes, King Abdul Aziz Street, into an eight-lane motorway that will run through the emirate’s industrial areas all the way to the sea.
Two bridges will be replaced – Sharjah Bridge on King Abdul Aziz Street and Al Khalidiya Bridge, which runs between Al Majaz and the new fish, fruit and vegetable market – and the two-lane Al Arouba Street, which intersects with King Abdul Aziz Street and provides access to several government departments, will become a four-lane motorway.
Business owners along Al Arouba Street do not yet know how the roadworks will affect them, but said they were happy and grateful for efforts to improve the emirate.
Saleh Ali, a grocery-store owner in Al Leyyah area, is among those pleased about the new developments for the neighbourhood.
“This place may look like a village now, but it is getting a four-lane road, Alhamdulillah,” he said. “I am even willing to give up my shop if it is mentioned in the plan as part of the road, because the road is going to benefit all of us.”
Salah bin Butti, the director of the Planning and Surveying department at Public Works, said the Ruler of Sharjah had allocated Dh64?million for the compensation of businesses and building owners that might be affected by the roadworks.
The roadworks will also create a link between the corniche and Khalid Lagoon, two of the emirate’s most popular recreation areas.
Details of a new plan to develop Al Hamriya City will also be announced soon, Sheikh Khalid said. Early information suggests roads, markets, parks, museums and residential neighbourhoods will be all developed as part of the project.
ykakande@thenational.ae
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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