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Dubai becomes a ghost town

DUBAI — Never before has a head of state, perhaps, heralded as much security measures in the UAE as US President George W. Bush’s visit yesterday did, bringing the bustling Dubai to almost a standstill. The authorities, who had already declared a public holiday in Dubai, yesterday closed major roads and bridges in a sweeping and unprecedented security operation.

George W. Bush, on his current regional tour, flew in to Dubai from the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, and was received at the airport by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

Renowned for its normally frantic pace of life, the booming emirate of Dubai could hardly have presented a more stark contrast with its deserted roads from as early as 6am until 4pm, and myriad construction projects underway in the emirate, including the world’s tallest skyscraper and a world-shaped cluster of man-made islands, grounded to a complete halt for the day.

Several helicopters could be seen overhead while small groups of armed police manned key intersections.

Most residents stayed indoors but as the day progressed, essential staff and passengers travelling to and from Dubai International Airport tried to manoeuvre around the city. However, they found themselves stuck on blocked roads, or caught up in traffic on the Emirates Road.

The city limped back to normalcy later in the evening.

An elderly western expatriate on a regular walk told Khaleej Times, “This is the first time I have seen anything like this. It’s a good day for a walk,” he said, as he surveyed the empty streets around him that would usually be full of traffic.

A group of expatriates wondered whether the blanket closure of the city was necessary. “This is the first time a US president has come here, so they have to take precautions,” he said.

Several Dubai Duty Free staff finishing night shift were unable to reach home as a result of road closures and were forced to walk home to Satwa and far off areas.

Public transport was barely visible with buses grounded and the movement of taxis restricted. Also, there were limited passengers scouting for taxis on roads as the taxi booking service remained closed until the roads reopened. However, many residents enjoyed the impromptu day off and could be seen walking in their neighbourhoods or playing cricket.

The malls, though, remained open and buzzing with people.

Meanwhile, amidst the road closures and police, Bush and his entourage, according to an agency report, visited various sites around Dubai, beginning with the historic home of the former Ruler of Dubai, now a museum loaded with photos and artifacts of the emirate’s history.

The US President grinned and tapped his foot as a group of girls stepped rhythmically to Arabic music, their long hair swinging from shoulder to shoulder. Bush then had lunch with students of the Dubai School of Government, a research and teaching institution that focuses on public policy in the Arab world. The US President and his hosts sat on cushions set in a circle and had their food in bowls on the carpeted floor before them.

“I am most impressed with what I’ve seen here. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and equally importantly, the desire to make sure all aspects of society have hope and encouragement,” Bush later told a gathering of entrepreneurs and others affiliated with a young leaders’ group.

The session was held in a conference room high atop one of Dubai’s signature buildings, Burj Al Arab. “I also want you to understand something about America - that we respect you, we respect your religion and we want to work together for the sake of freedom and peace,” Bush told the group.

Air travellers caught unawares

Several passengers hoping to take public transport back to their homes were caught unawares upon arrival at Dubai International Airport when forced to wait at the airport until major routes were reopened to traffic yesterday evening. Access to DIA Terminal Two was blocked for a period of time after 2pm, according to police.

Tired and frustrated after a long journey, several passengers said that had they known, they would have rescheduled their flights. People departing from Dubai only complained about the difficulty in reaching the airport on time for their flights.

“I arrived here from Lahore at 11am with my family and we expected to take a taxi home to Satwa. But on reaching Dubai we were told we’d have to wait until the roads opened in the evening because no taxi driver was willing to travel owing to closed roads,” said Sirajuddin, a passenger, who was fuming over the wait.

Most waiting passengers complained of lack of enough places to sit in the arrivals area. “As the day progressed, the crowd increased. Children were tired. This was just like a curfew,” complained another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous.

“Public buses are far in between, even then, we have been told that there are no buses to certain areas like Shaikh Zayed Road until 4.30pm,” said Peter Fuller, who arrived early morning from Munich.

However, Dubai Civil Aviation officials maintained Dubai International Airport was operating normally yesterday and was not closed at any time. “There were some slight delays as expected with road diversions and normal delays,” a DCA official said.

The DCA official said he was not able to give a clear picture of the number of passengers unable to leave the airport because of transportation issues or passenger no-shows.

Airline officials said their flights did not experience any delays or cancellations and passengers had been urged to arrive for check-in five hours early.

Hotels/travel

A hotel concierge said the Roads and Transport Authority had issued the hotel with a map on Sunday afternoon, which detailed road closures and alternative routes but the concierge, along with other motorists, said some roads designated open had been blocked. “The hotel can’t send cars out. Some guests got out early in the morning for flights but some haven’t and all guests coming to the hotel are being blocked,” said a hotel official.

Hotels not in the vicinity of Shaikh Zayed Road said guests were able to come and go via alternative routes.

Alpha Tours Travel and Holidays general manager Fabian Fernandes said an accurate picture of the number of passengers failing to reach the airport for their flights wouldn’t be available until today.

Public transport/taxis

Buses were not operating yesterday while taxi drivers were few and far between battling road closures, diversions and poor business with scarce passengers. A duty officer at the Dubai Police Operation Room said hundreds of motorists and cabbies called up enquiring about various road closures yesterday.

An RTA hot-line for road closures and alternative routes established for yesterday also had large numbers of callers.

Khatir, a Metro Taxi driver said, “I came across a lot of passengers almost pleading to take them to their respective destinations. There was a family that was desperate to go to Bur Dubai from Deira. But there was virtually no way we could have dropped them to Bur Dubai,” he said, adding, “We were forced to refuse a lot of passengers. I saw many commuters walking on the empty streets in a bid to reach their destinations,” said Khatir.

The Dubai Taxi booking line was closed until 4.30pm after the roads opened, according to an official.

Essential service staff of hospitals, hotels and media faced great difficulty in reaching their work places.

Sherlyn Carol, a Filipina who waited endlessly for a taxi near the Dnata in Deira, lamented, “I had to reach the Dubai airport as one of my friends was arriving. I waited for almost four hours for a taxi but none of them agreed. I am worried about my friend who would have already arrived and must be stranded without any transportation,” a frustrated Carol said.

A police official said no road accidents were reported during the road closure which started from early morning and remained in force until 3.30 pm. Also, nobody came to the police station to file any type of complaint, he added.

Shopping malls

Not all malls were easily accessible but a majority of staff at UAE malls reported strong numbers of residents shopping yesterday.

The malls maintained their normal opening hours -usually 10am to 10pm.

Empty cinemas

Several cinemas in Dubai stated that though they were open all through the day, there were only a handful of watchers. “Most of the shows were empty during the morning. We had hoped a big turnout on a public holiday. But it turned out to be the reverse,” said Grand Cinema representatives at Ghurair City, Deira.

Lamcy Cinemas representatives too said crowds began to come only after 5pm.