Critical services ready for the holidays

Utilities firms, hospitals and banks say they are well prepared and have enough contingencies in case any problems erupt during the Eid and UAE National Day holidays.

Bankers who spoke with Emirates Business said ATMs will be full stacked and be replenished in much more frequency to ensure cash is available in the system during the holidays.

"This is not the first time that we have long holidays and we anticipate customers' needs for cash to increase disproportionately.

"Hence Citibank is exerting extra efforts to keep our more than 50 ATMs full stacked," said Karim Seifeddine, Public Affairs Head, Gulf Levant and Pakistan, Citibank.

"We are well prepared. Most, if not all, banks are. We definitely have measures but these are confidential," said another banker who did not want to be named.

During the days banks are closed, their internet systems will be up to serve the customers. EmiratesNBD have had to suspend its operations for days prior the Eid holiday for a system upgrade.

Banks will remain closed for four days from November 26 to 29 to mark Eid Al Adha, according to a statement by the UAE Central Bank. Banks will also get a two-day holiday on December 2 and 3 to celebrate the National Day. The Central Bank's operations departments will work on November 30 and December 1 to serve banks as usual.

Despite the massive increase in consumption of power and electricity, Dewa assures the public that there would be no disruptions to be expected at all.

"All our networks are sturdy and strong in spite of a big increase in the usage. During the holidays we are also releasing advertisements reminding people not to waste electricity and water," said Abdullah Al Hajri, Executive Vice-President, Customer Services, Dewa.

In case of any problem, he said, people just need to dial its emergency hotline 991, which is available 24 hours a day. "Our offices are closed as per the government's instruction but our front line officers accepting new applications and cashiers will be on duty on November 30, December 1 and 5," he said.

Four out of 10 offices will be open during those days – the head office, Al Wasl, Burj Nahar and Al Twar.

Hospitals have also increased the number of doctors on duty, especially in their emergency division in anticipation of higher number of road accidents.

An official from Rashid Hospital's Trauma Centre said accidents usually increase by 50 per cent to 100 per cent during holidays, when most people are on outdoor activities.

"We have about 300 staffs not including doctors in the trauma centre alone. But during holidays, the whole trauma centre is full of patients and most number of them in the resuscitation area or the major accidents so we are fully aware and prepared," according to an official who has been working with Rashid Hospital for the past 17 years.

Telecom companies also assure their networks are sufficient to handle the massive increase of network usage and said their call centres are up 24x 7 to assist customers. "We have shifts and some of our network engineers are on call for any problem. Some of our business centres are open," said Samer Naffa, Director, Planning and Operations Office, etisalat.

"We prepare for these times as we receive lots of calls and there are a lot of greetings via MMS and SMS and this could strain the network. If there is any problem people can call 101 and their problems will be addressed by our on-call engineers," said Naffa.


Off-peak rates from Etisalat

Etisalat has announced special initiatives for its customers to enjoy significant savings as they reach out and greet their loved ones around the world during the Eid Al Adha celebrations.

Between 9pm on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 to 7am on Monday, November 30, 2009, all etisalat mobile and landline global calls will be charged at off-peak rates.

Weyak, etisalat's web and mobile portal, is also gearing up for customers to reach out and share greetings for Eid Al Adha. Customers can download greetings free in different formats. Weyak can be accessed at www.weyak.ae from a PC, or mobile.weyak.ae from a mobile phone.


Free parking in Dubai, Abu Dhabi

RTA has confirmed free parking in Dubai during Eid holidays. No parking charges will be levied between November 26 and December 4, RTA spokesperson said. Only vehicles parked at Deira fish market will be charged. Meanwhile, parking will be free from Thursday November 26 until December 3 in Abu Dhabi, said Abu Dhabi DoT yesterday. Fees charges will resume from Saturday December 5.


Reduced charges from du

Telecom provider du has announced reduced call and text message rates for the Eid Al Adha and UAE National Day holidays for both domestic and international calls.

On Eid and National Day, all international calls from mobile and fixed lines will be charged at du's off-peak rate. Domestic SMS messages will be charged at a special rate of 15 fils, and international SMS at 45 fils each.

Customers who have subscribed to the special India calling offer can call India all day for 1.67 fils per second (Dh1 per 60 seconds). Subscribers for the IDD off-peak offer calling their friends and family in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bangladesh, the Philippines, or the US from 2pm to 4pm, and from 9pm to 7am and full day on Friday will be charged 1.67 fils per second (Dh1 per 60sec).

For calls to Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK, call charges will be 2.08 fils per second (Dh1.25 per 60 seconds) during this period. Standard off-peak rates during the rest of the hours in the day will apply.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: "In celebration of the [two] occasions, we have launched this special offer to give all du customers reason to celebrate with their friends and family both locally and abroad."

Information on du's promotional rates are available on its website du.ae.

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