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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Great list! And how about, "can this mode seamlessly
connect (physically, economically, financially) to all the other modes a person
(or a good) needs to use to get from door to door sustainably and affordably".
In other words does this mode contribute positively / optimally to the
whole system or take away from it.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>And how about "can this mode be used for moving people and
for goods?"</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>And how about "can this mode be easily scaled down as a
result of wise land use / technological infrastructure that allows for reduction
of trip lengths or elimination of trps altogether, i.e. is it mobility dominated
or accessibility based?"</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Cheers,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=342251213-10082006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Sue</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Eric Britton
[mailto:eric.britton@ecoplan.org] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, August 10, 2006
8:16 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org;
GlobalSouth@yahoogroups.com<BR><B>Cc:</B> Susan Zielinski; Jan@Gehl.dk;
roadnotes@freenet.de; SCHIPPER@wri.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Meanwhile: The
rickshaw's last stand <BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">[If I may sneak a word
in here, it strikes me that after all these years that here are the key issues
that need to be sorted out for this or any other Global South Mobility
issue:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<OL type=1>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Does this mode
provide useful mobility services?</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Is it affordable and
available to poorer people?</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Is it putting an
important economic strain on the community?</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Does it provide paid
work for people who want to do it?</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">If there is stuff
that is wrong with it (long list here), and what point by point can be done to
shorten and soften this list?</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Will an appropriately
cleaned up version of it contribute to sustainable development and social
justice – and a softer, safer and better city.</SPAN></FONT>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="COLOR: black"><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">If the mode is
suppressed who wins and who loses? And what is their economic
bracket?</SPAN></FONT> </LI></OL>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It always strikes me
that those who take up arms against these modes seem have no deep feeling for
what is happening on the street and in these communities, and take to it an
abstract deus ex machina attitude I am not sure that this is the stuff of good
policy and democracy. Now on the Datta-Ray’s version of the
story.]</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headlinetext1><B><FONT face=Arial color=black
size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Meanwhile: The rickshaw's last stand
</SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=bylinetext1><B><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black">Sunanda K. Datta-Ray
International Herald Tribune </SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=pubdatetext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black">WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9,
2006</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=pubdatetext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black">
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/08/09/opinion/edray.php</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=pubdatetext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A
href="http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?query=CALCUTTA&sort=swishrank"><B><FONT
color=black><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: black"><!-- skyscraper start -->CALCUTTA</SPAN></FONT></B></A>
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s hand-drawn
rickshaws - the last in the world - were granted a reprieve while elsewhere
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">India</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s government
clamped down on blogs and Internet cafes to prevent cyber attacks. That's
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">India</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s diversity for
you.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The rickshaw has
been dying a long time. The last license was issued in 1945. A bill to abolish
the humble vehicle - its name derived from the Japanese jinrikisha (jin, human;
riki, force; sha, vehicle - "human-powered vehicle") - was introduced last year
in the </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">West
Bengal</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">
legislature but has been sent to a select committee for further
discussion.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">This dithering
highlights a major difference between </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">China</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> and
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">India</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">. Mao abolished
rickshaws in one sweep, but Indian politicians, trade union leaders and
nongovernmental organizations have been arguing all these years that a ban would
deprive thousands of poor laborers of their only means of livelihood. Rickshaws
are cheap, safe and clean, unlike </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> buses belching
black clouds of diesel fumes.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The opposing
argument is that rickshaws violate the dignity of man. The puller sweats it out
in unbearably hot temperatures or wades through flooded streets for a pittance.
It's back- breaking work, and tuberculosis is an occupational hazard for pullers
who often live on the pavement, scrimping and saving to send a few cents
home.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Other forces are
also at work. </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana
color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> had only 6,000
licensed rickshaws in the 1990s when more than 30,000 plied the streets. If you
looked at the license plates of many vehicles, you saw only squiggles instead of
numbers. If you were trundling along in one - which I wouldn't for love or money
- and your journey lay past a police station, the rickshaw puller flatly refused
to take you.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Illegal rickshaws
weren't quite rogue operators. They were owned by influential citizens,
including policemen, who rented them to the pullers for a few rupees per shift.
If caught, it was the poor puller who was fined. One often saw rows of rickshaws
- the ones that didn't get away - lined up outside police
stations.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Hand-pulled at
first, then cycle driven, rickshaws have been used at one time or another in
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Tokyo</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">,
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Kyoto</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">,
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Hong
Kong</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">,
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Dhaka</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> and most Southeast
Asian cities. They first became popular in </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Japan</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> in the late 19th
century, the early Meiji period, replacing horse- drawn palanquins. Men were
faster and cheaper than horses.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana
color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">India</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s rickshaws
appeared first in Simla, where British viceroys escaped the summer heat. The
elite had their own vehicles with liveried pullers, and observed strict
protocol. The young Maharani of Kapurthala was reprimanded for bowling away in
her rickshaw from the theater before a British burra memsahib could summon
hers.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s flourishing
Chinese traders originally used rickshaws to transport goods; in 1914 they
applied for permission to carry passengers as well. Soon, pulling a rickshaw
became a peasant's first job on migrating to the city. Many stayed with it for
life. In Roland Joffe's 1992 film "City of </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Joy</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">," based on
Dominique Lapierre's eponymous novel, the Indian actor Om Puri, playing a
hard-pressed rickshaw puller who hasn't abandoned hope, encounters an American
doctor, played by Patrick Swayze, fleeing the West with no hope at
all.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">West
Bengal</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'s
governing Marxists are moving cautiously. First, several major
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> streets were closed
to rickshaw traffic. Then, more than 12,000 rickshaws were seized and destroyed.
The policy of not renewing licenses has brought down the number to 1,800. The
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">West
Bengal</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> chief
minister, Buddhdeb Bhattacharjee, promises a total ban next
year.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">There are many
theories about the rickshaw's origins. Three Americans - a
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Massachusetts</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> blacksmith, a
Baptist minister and a missionary in </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Yokohama</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> whose invalid wife
needed to get about - have been credited with the invention. So has an
Englishman known as "Public-spirited Smith." The Japanese say it was the work of
three Japanese whom the </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT
face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Tokyo</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> authorities
permitted to build and sell rickshaws, providing one of them put his stamp on
every license to operate a rickshaw.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana
color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Indians are not in
the picture. But </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana
color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Calcutta</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=bodytext1><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> is the rickshaw's
last stand; and a monsoon outbreak may have contributed to the last minute
reprieve. Only rickshaws can brave the city's flooded streets in which cars and
buses are regularly stalled.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana color=black
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR><BR><EM><I><FONT
face=Verdana><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Sunanda K. Datta-Ray is former
Editor of The Statesman newspaper in
Indian.</SPAN></FONT></I></EM></SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV></BODY></HTML>