SHARJAH // A Dh22 million project to redevelop Rolla Square park will be finished by the end of the year.
The work has been under way for four years, and the 3.7-hectare park has been fenced off from the public.
Once the revamp has been completed, the park will feature seven fountains and a cafeteria in a shape of a tree, with 60 per cent of the park set aside for green spaces.
“We have most of the work done now and the agricultural department have been planting the grass as some of the final touches,” said Abdul Aziz Al Mansouri, the assistant director general of the engineering section at Sharjah Municipality.
“There are some parts we are waiting to arrive from abroad in a few months and once installed the park would open to the public.”
Rolla Square was one of the most popular parks in the emirate and officials are keen to keep its reputation as a landmark intact, Mr Al Mansouri said.
“People would come from as far as Ajman and Umm Al Quwain to meet under the Rolla tree,” he said. “On festive days like Eid it would be full of families and this festive character of the place, we are trying to keep it.”
The park was named after the planting of the first Banyan tree, by Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqer Bin Rashid Al Qasimi, who ruled the emirate from 1803 to 1866, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.
The Banyan is known as the Rolla tree in Arabic.
Within a few years the tall Rolla trees became popular with dhow workers of all nationalities from the quayside, who would sit in the shade under their branches while waiting for cargo to be loaded or unloaded at the nearby port.
It is listed as one of Sharjah’s main historical sites and is close to the main bus station and other important areas.
Despite the park being closed for the past few years, the streets around it have remained a popular place for people to gather, especially bachelors from nearby neighbourhoods who meet along the park’s fences to chat in the evenings.
Irfan Habib, like many of the men who enjoyed hanging out at the park, is already counting the days until it reopens.
“Our main concern is it’s not going to be as free as it used to be and this could affect it being lively,” said Mr Habib. “The authorities could restrict the park for only families, leaving us out. If they do they may as well start charging an entrance fee as with our tight budgets we shall again be out.”
Mr Al Mansouri said it was likely a small fee would be charged for entrance, just as in other parks around Sharjah, but officials would not stop bachelors from enjoying the new park.
“In the future we may come up with some programme allocating some days for families alone but it’s all not yet decided,” he said.
ykakande@thenational.ae
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NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
HAJJAN
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Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
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Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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Emergency
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Rating: 3.5/5 stars
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
