Timings for public services
Dear Sir,
Qatar is a fast-developing country and, because of that, is being watched with great interest by the entire world.
People from several countries work in Qatar, making it a true “state of the world”.
The government is keen about the welfare of the entire workforce and has launched many measures to make their stay in Qatar as comfortable as possible.
Here I would like to make a suggestion on the working hours of utilities and banks in Qatar.
The official working hours at banks (7:30am to 1pm) and at Kahramaa (6:30am to 2:30pm) need to be revised to help them serve the public better. Qatar’s central bank must look at the bank timings to make them more flexible so that customers can make use of their services fully even after the general office hours.
True, there are already certain banks which operate some branches in the evening hours but only at certain prime malls. It is not enough. The regular timings that end at 1pm now need to be extended at least to 3:30pm.
Similarly Kahramaa timings must be revised or it should open customer service outlets in various shopping malls that should remain open past regular office hours. This will help customers to visit them even after their office hours.
Syed Jalal
Business analyst
(Address supplied)
Elusive peace
Dear Sir,
The slaughter of Muslims and Christians in the Middle East is totally and utterly unacceptable. The stench of war and conflict seems to have enveloped the world. Peace remains elusive. For many, the concept of world peace might seem like something of a cliche. But it is not a cliche, it is something essential for our continued existence.
Peace begins within. Until we can find that quiet, still place that lives inside each of us, peace will remain elusive and misunderstood. It is an unfortunate part of post-Cold War history that the demons of enmity, intolerance and violence between nations continue to live with us.
Schisms between nations and religious groups are becoming wider. It’s time we all realised that multi-culturalism does not lead to disintegration; we need to celebrate our differences, not ridicule them.
It was Dr Martin Luther King who once said: “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at the goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”
Farouk Araie
[email protected]
