New Delhi, wake up!

In the Northeast, they tell you, usually bluntly: "You Indians have the same attitude to us as the West has to the Third World. Normally, you ignore us completely. Our existence figures as a blip on your radar only when there is a disaster or calamity: massacres, serious ethnic clashes, floods, something bad. Otherwise, we are dead for you..."


I first heard these words in Nagaland and Mizoram more than 20 years ago. They greeted me again on my visit to the Northeast in mid-July. A remarkable achievement of the Indian state over the decades is that such resentment is now widely shared by the people of all seven states of the region.


The worst cesspools of discontent today are Assam and Manipur. The Assamese are upset not so much at the terrible floods and the havoc they are wreaking everywhere, including Guwahati city, as at the government's apathy, the failure of its relief programme and its lack of preparedness and planning.


As most people know, relief provision has become a big racket involving crores of rupees. People have learnt to expect floods, and to great extent, to live with them: they know floods can't be prevented or contained. But what they do expect is a warning from the state about the imminence and severity of floods, and some plans for timely evacuation. This alone could reduce loss to life by almost 100 per cent and damage to property by up to 80 per cent at a modest cost.


Instead, the government spends hundreds of crores on "flood control" -- a massive scam which consists of building barrages and dams that will be washed away in no time, or which swollen rivers bypass.


One such project is a dam being built on the Pagladiya river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra. This is a "multipurpose" affair, meant to establish "flood control" over 40,000 hectares, irrigate 54,000 hectares and even generate a token 3 MW of power. Three years ago, the project was meant to cost Rs 543 crores. Its estimated cost has more than doubled to Rs 1,136 crores -- although it's not even half-complete. The cost meter is running -- and fast. The Pagladiya project came in for sharp criticism last year in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture.


I was on an Environment Ministry "Expert Committee" on river valley projects in 1996-98. The Pagladiya dam was referred to us. "Pagladiya" literally means "mad river" because it changes its course wildly, drastically and suddenly. This is the result largely of seismic factors which cause mountainous masses of earth to shift position, creating landslides, huge silt flows and floods. The effect is compounded by deforestation and other man-made factors.


A minority within the committee, including me, opposed the project because no dam could possibly address the root-cause of the floods or the river's "migration" (shifting of its bed) by tens of kilometres at a time. A three km-long dam would be useless, for instance, on a river which changes course by 30 km in 4 years!


The project, we argued, is doubly irrational because in the name of "irrigation", it would create water-logging in places. Half the power it might generate in a good year would be used to pump out the accumulated water from "irrigation" -- to prevent floods!


The project was approved under pressure from the Centre and irrigation lobbies. Today, the same "mad river" is creating havoc through floods and by depositing coarse silt on fertile paddy-fields -- causing local shortages of food. The Pagladiya, reports The Hindu, has turned Namati village (pop 8,000) in Assam's Nalbari district "into an island. Three villagers, including two women, [have] died of diarrhoea due to lack of safe drinking water. The district administration has now installed four tube-wells". The irony of drilling tube-wells amidst floods should be self-evident!


At any rate, continues the report, the large amount of sand the river carries "gets deposited on the bed, raising its level. As a result, it easily breaches the banks, causing catastrophic damage. This year, too, [the] Pagladiya changed its course and converged with another river, Buradiya", no less!


The purpose of describing the "flood control" racket is to highlight the nature of the Centre-Northeast relationship. If New Delhi can be so supremely cynical and callous towards the region's largest constituent, with a quarter-century-long history of insurgency, one can only imagine its attitude towards the smaller states.


Manipur is a perfect, if sordid, instance of this. It has witnessed angry month-long protests at the alleged abduction, torture, rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama, a 32-year old Manipuri woman on July 11 while under the custody of Assam Rifles. The protest's most dramatic form was a demonstration by women in front of the headquarters of Assam Rifles in Imphal on July 15. They stripped themselves bare and held up two banners: "Indian Army, rape us; Indian Army, take our flesh."

Also Read: Manipur -- Looming Implosion


The Manipuris are convinced that Assam Rifles personnel kidnapped and raped Manorama and then claimed that she was a militant activist who tried to escape and was shot dead -- a predictable, familiar account of hundreds of "encounter killings" in the Northeast and elsewhere in India.


This version is belied by tell-tale torture marks and the location of as many as 16 bullets in Manorama's body. It has further infuriated the Manipuri public which has long opposed the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, one of the most draconian laws ever on India's statute books. Such is the abuse (or rather, normal use) of this law -- and 450 allegations have been levelled against its application in the Northeast since 1990 -- that it evokes popular revulsion. A poignant protest against the killing of 10 innocent civilians under the Act four years ago has been led by Irom Sharmila Devi who has refused to eat anything since November 2000. (She is force-fed through her nose.)


What's wrong with the AFSPA? Basically everything. It's modelled on the colonial Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance 1942, which was enacted to neutralise the Quit India Movement. Under it, the government can declare any area, district, or a whole state, "disturbed", conferring upon the armed forces extraordinary powers -- without accountability. An officer of any rank in a "disturbed" area can "enter and search any premises without warrant", destroy it, and carry out an arrest on "reasonable suspicion" that a person has committed or is about to commit a cognisable offence! It allows the killing of a person who, in the "opinion" of the officer, violates prohibitory orders.


If the officer "is of opinion that it is necessary to do so", he may kill any person who violates prohibitory orders including trivial ones like Sec 144. The Act's most obnoxious part is Section 6 which grants immunity to the armed forces -- "no prosecution... or other legal proceeding shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done" under the Act. "Purported to be done" takes the cake.


POTA is an obnoxious law. But it at least has an appeal process, norms of evidence, and other (inadequate) "safeguards". The AFSPA's sole "safeguard" is Section 5, which says that any person "taken into custody under this Act shall be made over" to the police "with the least possible delay" -- "least", as determined by the army, of course. The AFSPA is a disgraceful and dishonourable law. It must be repealed back, stock and barrel.


That's the unanimous demand of the Manipuris. The Centre is mulishly resisting it. The people's moral-political pressure has impelled Chief Minister Ibobi Singh to lift the AFSPA from the Imphal municipal area -- an obviously inadequate step. The Centre, technically, can re-impose the Act on Imphal, or it can clamp President's rule on Manipur. But that would begin a potentially catastrophic confrontation with a state of the Union.


The Centre has already provoked suspicion and anger in the Imphal Valley by extending the ceasefire agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) for another year. The agreement covers all Naga-inhabited areas and not just the state of Nagaland. These include four hill districts of Manipur. The Manipuris understandably fear that a literal interpretation of the agreement might lead to their state's division. True, the UPA's Common Minimum Programme promises to maintain "the integrity" of India's Northeastern states. But this has not fully assured the Manipuris.


Suspicion of the Naga accord has lent an edge to the anti-AFSPA agitation. The Centre must assuage the Manipuris' hurt even as it talks to the NSCN(I-M). Manipur is a site of many conflicts: between the Imphal Valley and the hills, Meiteis and tribals, Nagas and Kukis. The Centre must not aggravate matters by adopting a mindlessly insensitive stance or imposing bad compromises like shifting the Assam Rifles headquarters while continuing with the AFSPA. The consequences could be unspeakable for the entire Northeast.


Praful Bidwai

Moral Dilemma :)

This test only has one question, but it's a very important one.

Please don't answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will be able to ascertain where you stand morally.

The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other. Remember that your answer should be honest, yet spontaneous.

Please scroll down slowly and consider each line - this is important for the test to work accurately.

You're in Florida. In Miami, to be exact. There is great chaos going on around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods.

There are huge masses of water all around you. You are an Associated Press photographer and you are in the middle of this great disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless.

You're trying to shoot very impressive photos. There are houses afloat around, people floating disappearing into the water. Nature is showing all its awesome power.

Suddenly you see a man in the water - he is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and mud. You move closer.

Somehow the man looks familiar.

Suddenly you know who it is - it's George W.Bush!

At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him away, forever. you have two options. You can save him or you can take thebest photo of your life. You can't do both.
You can either save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer Prize winning photo, a unique photo chronicling one of the world's most powerful men in a battle against the power of nature itself.

Here's the question (please give an honest answer):.........scroll down






















Would you select color film, or instead go for the simplicity of classic black and white?

Bank Of America Groundbreaking SNAPS

Last Monday was the groundbreaking event for the One Bryant Park Project. This project is being designed by our office and I have been involved on this project for the past 18 months.

Check out the pictures of the groundbreaking event at this site.....

http://arzan.org/arzan/events/obpgr/

arZan

'World's Most Environmentally Responsible High-Rise Office Building'

Builders Break Ground on 'World's Most Environmentally Responsible High-Rise Office Building'
Source GreenBiz.com
URL: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=27023
NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2004 - Bank of America and The Durst Organization have broken ground on the construction of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, a 945-foot-tall crystalline skyscraper that will rise in Midtown Manhattan. Located on the west side of Sixth Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Street, the high-rise office tower is scheduled to open in 2008.

Bank of America Tower will serve as the headquarters for Bank of America?s operations in New York City, and house its global corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and consumer and commercial banking businesses. The bank will occupy roughly half of the 2.1 million square foot structure. The unique size of the building?s footprint will enable Bank of America to operate six major trading floors there, ranging in size from 43,000 to 99,000 square feet.

"The magnificent new Bank of America Tower is the latest chapter in the revitalization of Bryant Park and will strengthen New York City's position as the financial capital of the world," said Mayor Bloomberg. "This bold and dynamic project will create nearly 7,000 construction jobs, and over the next 25 years, 3,000 new jobs that will generate more than $1 billion in tax revenue for the City. Our 5-borough economic development strategy is making the City more livable and business-friendly so that businesses locate here, and the creation of this new 52-story building shows that it is working. I would like to thank Bank of America and the Durst Organization for their commitment to this important project and to New York City."

Environmentally Conscious Architecture

Upon completion, Bank of America Tower will be the world?s most environmentally responsible high-rise office building and the first to strive for the U.S. Green Building Council?s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum designation. The project incorporates innovative, high-performance technologies to use dramatically less energy, consume less potable water and provide a healthy and productive indoor environment that prioritizes natural light and fresh air.

?By providing an opportunity for one of the world?s foremost financial service institutions to increase its commitment to New York, the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park already is making an important contribution to New York and demonstrates to the world the vitality of our city,? said Douglas Durst, co-president of The Durst Organization. ?We look forward to a long, mutually satisfying relationship and to creating not just a spectacular visual experience, but also the most environmentally responsible building possible.?

Located on the largest development site in Midtown Manhattan, the Bank of America Tower will house the 1.1-million-square-foot headquarters for the New York operations of Bank of America and the 50,000-square-foot restored and reconstructed Henry Miller Theater, as well as 1 million square feet of office space for other tenants. The $1 billion project -- co-developed by Bank of America and The Durst Organization -- will rise adjacent to The Durst Organization?s flagship tower, the Cond� Nast Building at Four Times Square. Bank of America has committed to a 20-year lease for its space.

The Design

Designed by Cook+Fox Architects, LLP of New York, the glass, steel and aluminum skyscraper is inspired by the building's unique site within its immediate location and its broader urban context. The faceted crystal design of the tower features unique sculptural surfaces with crisp folds and precise vertical lines that are animated by the movement of the sun and the moon. The transparency of the building, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, provides evocative views both from and through the space. From the building's base, which accommodates the surrounding complex pedestrian and transit circulation, to the overall massing, continuing up to the tip of the spire, the design responds to the built environment of Midtown Manhattan.

?The transparent faceted surfaces of the building function as a permeable membrane for shifting qualities of perception and light,? says Richard Cook, partner at Cook+Fox Architects. ?Embodied within this clear glass skin is something organic in nature, something which echoes not only the kinetic movement and energy from the streets below but also the dynamic and crystalline structure of forms encountered in the natural world.?

The design for the Bank of America Tower is inspired by the building?s unique site within its immediate location and its broader urban context. From the building?s base, which accommodates the surrounding complex pedestrian and transit circulation, to the overall massing, continuing up to the tip of the spire, the design responds to the built environment of Midtown Manhattan.

The exterior wall of the tower will be a clear glass curtain-wall to complement the building?s faceted crystal design. The building?s form is sculpted to provide a south-facing surface to address its prominent relationship to Bryant Park and permit views into and out of the structure.

?Green? Considerations

With an emphasis on sustainability, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and energy and atmosphere, the Bank of America Tower will be constructed largely of recycled and recyclable building materials. It will feature a wide range of sophisticated environmental technologies, from filtered under-floor displacement air ventilation to advanced double-wall technology and translucent insulating glass in floor-to-ceiling windows that permit maximum daylight and optimum views. It also will include a state-of-the-art onsite 4.6-megawatt cogeneration plant, providing a clean, efficient power source for the building's energy requirements.

The Bank of America Tower will save millions of gallons of water annually through such innovative devices such as a gray-water system to capture and reuse all rain and wastewater, while planted roofs will reduce the urban heat island effect. Taking advantage of heat energy from the cogeneration plant, a thermal storage system will produce ice in the evenings, which will reduce the building's peak demand loads on the city's electrical grid. Daylight dimming and LED lights will reduce electric usage while carbon dioxide monitors automatically introduce more fresh air when necessary. By fundamentally changing the way buildings are conceived, Bank of America Tower will lead the change in the way high-rise buildings are built.

Reconstructed Henry Miller?s Theater

At the direction of Bank of America and The Durst Organization, Cook+Fox Architects will restore and reconstruct the historic Henry Miller?s Theater, with the goal of creating a state-of-the-art Broadway playhouse that captures the intimacy and proportions of the original 1918 Allen, Ingalls & Hoffman Theater. The Georgian-style land marked fa�ade will be preserved and restored, the oval reception room, doors and decorative plasterwork, including the iconic urns marking the 43rd Street entrance, will be salvaged and incorporated into the new design.

The seating will be increased to 1,000, the majority of which will have a prime location at orchestra level. A sophisticated acoustics system will be integrated, as well as a larger orchestra pit and a fully functional fly-tower and scenic loading facilities. Other new amenities will include improved public circulation, box office and concessions areas, with a spacious lobby bar at the orchestra level, a bar and caf� at the ground level, a restaurant on the upper mezzanine and a significant increase in women?s restrooms.

The new theater also will be fully handicapped accessible with 20 wheelchair-viewing positions. In addition, the theater will have an auxiliary exhibition space -- an adjacent through-block pedestrian passageway that provides views into the theater and includes a special documentary style multimedia presentation exploring the life and times of the historical Henry Miller playhouse.

Public Amenities

With approximately three times the public circulation space required by an as-of-right high-rise office building, the Bank of America Tower will accommodate and contribute to the surrounding pedestrian and transit circulation. Public amenities will include widened sidewalks, public street furniture and an urban garden room located at 43rd Street and Sixth Avenue, which serves as an inviting extension of Bryant Park.

The design also incorporates a new glass-enclosed subway entrance with wider stairs and an elevator at 42nd Street on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue. An underground pedestrian walkway on the north side of 42nd Street will link the B, D and F subway lines to the Times Square station and a new mid-block subway entrance on 42nd Street will connect to the below-grade walkway, in addition to a special through-block passageway featuring a ?Broadway Wall of Fame? with interactive information kiosks.

Bank of America breaks ground on NYC headquarters

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) broke ground on a 52-story New York headquarters on Monday, even as metropolitan-area banks and other companies girded against potential terror attacks on well-known buildings after a new warning from U.S. officials. At a ground-breaking ceremony attended by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state Gov. George Pataki, Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis said: "We are committed to being in the city and we are not going to be deterred by threats of terrorism." A day after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge put New York, Washington and other financial centers on a "High" alert for attack -- the nation's second highest level of readiness -- security was visibly stepped up at key buildings in the New York area. The No. 3 U.S bank, which increased security around the country after the latest warning on Sunday, said it expects to have the tower completed by 2008. The bank, which has its main headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, said the 2.1-million-square-foot (195,100-sq-metre) structure will have six trading floors. The bank will occupy about half of the building. A joint development with the Durst Organization, the building will cover a two-acre (0.9-hectare) site one block from Times Square in midtown Manhattan. Construction will create nearly 7,000 jobs.