Hibiscus Brings Rain

Amrit Singh, Bau Road, Nausori

The Mother of all festivals is back and this time it will be held in Nasinu.

What a loss it will be to Vodafone Fiji and Suva City Council because Suva city has failed in its part to have a proper ground space to host its outright festival.

It has led some people to say they will not attend this year’s Hibiscus Festival.

But, as you know Fiji people say and do things differently at the end of the day.

I will miss the sunshine now.

Hibiscus always brings rain and this year will be no exception.

I hoped the carnival would be held in Suva, but I guess the public has no say as to where the Hibiscus Festival will be held.

Maybe next year it will be held in Labasa or maybe Denarau?

Because Suva city has no land available to build a park to host the festival.

Suva City Council should have planned way back to open a ground named Hibiscus Park where rides are available seven days a week.

What a business it could have been for barbecue stalls and amusement ride operators because daily income would have been generated and when August arrived the “’Mother of all Festivals”’ Hibiscus would have taken place.

We lack people with ideas and innovation in our country. I feel we all are stuck in a time where by we feel “once built always stays built”.

Happy Hibiscus to everyone and safe driving.

Also keep those fancy phones and purses safe.

Enjoy the ride!

The Hibiscus

Floyd Robinson, Suva

Is the Hibiscus Festival gradually losing its reputation as the Mother of all Festivals?

Well, if the quality of responses from our Queens during public judging does not improve in general as observed in recent years the Aid Senikau Pageant may become the shining light of the Hibiscus Festival.

While Adi Senikau contestant’s responses at public judging appear more natural, the same cannot be said of our Queen contestants.

Unfortunately, there is an increasing trend of answers or responses which appear crammed or taken out exactly from a textbook.

Whatever one’s views, the Hibiscus Festival is back, but at a different location.

Let’s support the contestants and take time to enjoy what the Hibiscus has to offer.

Meanwhile don’t forget to lock the doors and windows because historically, there is a trend of increased criminal activity during the Hibiscus Festival.

More importantly, let’s ensure the safety of our families and loved ones.

Shopping trolleys

Satish Nakched, Suva

I believe that many of us during shopping in the supermarkets may have come across shopping trolleys that are at times very difficult to handle.

This level of difficulties increases as more goods are added on and places the wheels under a lot of constraints and added friction.

The most common problem is that the wheels become jammed which prevents the manoeuvring of the trolley in the desired direction.

Shopping trolleys are a very useful item and reduce the amount of effort or load carrying a customer has to do when shopping and defective equipment becomes a safety concern.

The defective wheels have caused collision in the aisles, either with the other shoppers or with the display racks. The non-manoeuvring shopping trolleys affects the lower back and injuries are the most common musculoskeletal disorders caused by manual pushing.

The wheels of the shopping trolleys have swivel ball bearings, which allow it to turn 360 degrees in a tight space.

The major problem that contributes to the deteriorating standard of the trolleys are that most supermarkets have bitumen car parks with a lot of loose gravel components that are used in sealing the surface.

The smaller particles tend to affect the rotation elements by getting thrust in the wedge.

Some supermarkets allow suppliers to use the trolleys for moving goods from delivery trucks to stores and they grossly overload the trolleys.

The shopping trolleys are manufactured to carry a maximum of 18kg.

Such abuse may result in damage, premature end of bearing life due to inadequate lubrication, contamination and improper handling.

I believe that there should be an additional insertion to our National Building Codes that covers car parks having only concrete constructed surfaces, which will prolong the useful life span of the equipment.

Weekly shopping can be a stressful experience without trying to push around a trolley with a defective wheel or have another person actually pulling the trolley from the other end in order to progress towards the parked vehicle.

However, sometimes a defective trolley can be more than just an inconvenience and can be responsible for a nasty accident in the supermarket and in the case of an adverse effect may result in liability issues.

Be Careful

Dharmendra Kumar, Suva

Imagine a politician making a clear and specific promise before the 2018 General Election.

Imagine then, if you can, that politician breaking the promise when he or she is elected to Parliament.

Usually when somebody lets you down over something important you can threaten to get the law involved.

What can we do to lying politicians?

Specific, headline grabbing promises in the party manifesto and misleading politicians are simply unethical.

As a voter we have to be careful to the pledges and promises of politicians because history has shown promises will certainly be broken.

As for me, I will have to vote smart and rely on track records and evaluate performances of governments to make my decision.

I am aware that it will affect me and the future generations.

It is a law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality.

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