As Anna ends fast, the city feasts on the victory dance

COIMBATORE: The cotton city on Sunday celebrated the successful culmination of Anna Hazare`s fast against corruption in a variety of ways. Gandhipuram and railway station premises witnessed a cracker fest while activists distributed sweets in many parts of the city. Despite it being a Sunday, students came together and organized small gatherings and processions to mark the victory.

The indefinite fast undertaken by activists of voluntary organization Fifth Pillar in support of Hazare`s cause also came to a close on Sunday. Over 200 people took part in a public programme organized by Fifth Pillar and Isha Yoga Centre at CODESSIA trade fair complex in the evening. Vande Matharam reverberated in the air when the activists took a pledge against corruption. The programme also reiterated the role of vigilance police and the Right to Information Act in fighting corruption. The speeches were interspersed with music sessions organized by singers of the Isha Yoga Centre

"It is a remarkable victory and we will carry forward the war against corruption," said Vijay Anand, co-founder of Fifth Pillar. He said the celebration should not be an end to the struggle, but a continuation to achieve the goal of eradicating corruption. People should keep the struggle alive and free Coimbatore from corruption, he said.

"I am really excited and happy about the victory of Annaji," said S J Priyanka, a student of GRD Martriculation school. "Ever since he started the movement I have been following the issue, especially the turn of events in the city. It is not the victory of Annaji alone but the victory of people who want to see the country free of corruption. I attended the anti-corruption programmes and this has inspired me to fight corruption. I have pledged never to pay or take bribes from people," Priyanka said.

"People are fed up with a corrupt government. They found a hero in Anna Hazare who was able to mobilize the public to join the fight. We could have been a prosperous and developed country if only we could have curbed corruption. I hope the next generation can live free of such evils," said V Rajesh Kannan, design manager in a private company.

"It is our second struggle for independence and Annaji is the light fighting against the darkness of corruption. However, implementation of the Lokpal bill alone will not weed out corruption," said K Sundareswaran, a businessman.

Anna's next campaign: Right to recall MPs

New Delhi: Minutes after anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare ended his fast on Sunday, he declared that electoral reforms will be on top of his agenda next so that corruption can come down. "I have only deferred my fast, not given it up. Only when these reforms are complete will I really end my fast. I will not rest until all the changes that I look to are achieved," he said to thunderous applause from thousands of his supporters waving tricolour and shouting slogans like 'Anna Hazare Zindabad'.

Hazare broke his 13-days long fast on Sunday morning after Parliament adopted the Sense of the House resolution on the three key demands made by him.

Dismissing the charge that his campaign was against Parliament and Constitution, he said the change has to be through constitutional means.

Hazare said that his fight would now be for Right to recall and Right to reject as part of electoral reforms so that corruption can be reduced.

"While Right to recall would be for those elected, the Right to reject will be a column in the ballot paper which would ensure the voter has a right to say that he does not like the listed candidates.

"We have to reform electoral system. (we need) Right to reject. You should be able to reject your candidate in the ballot paper. We have to do that."

"If the majority in a constituency says that they reject a candidate, even then the election should be cancelled. How much money they (candidates) will distribute? Once the candidate spends Rs 10 crore for one election and if the election is cancelled, then right sense will dawn upon them," he said.

Maintaining that people's parliament is bigger than "Parliament in Delhi", Hazare said that is why Parliament had to listen to people's parliament.

"This movement has created a faith that the country can be rid of corruption and we can go ahead with implementing laws and the Constitution made by Dr BR Ambedkar," he said.

Referring to Parliament's decision to refer three of his demands, citizen's charter, inclusion of lower bureaucracy and creation of Lokayuktas through Lokpal bill for Standing Committee's consideration, he said, the country can be proud of this moment. Thirteen days of agitation has yielded fruits.

Meanwhile, Team Anna said that it hopes that the Government will convene a special session of Parliament to pass the Lokpal Bill in a month's time. "We hope that the government convenes a special session of Parliament within a month's time to pass Lokpal Bill," Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan said.

Flanked by his team members, including Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia, Hazare said what has been achieved in Parliament on Saturday is a victory of the people of India, democracy and those assembled in Ramlila Ground.

Hurricane Irene 2011: Upstate New York, Vermont Face Major Flooding

As Hurricane Irene travels northward, leaving the major cities of New York and Washington in better shape than anticipated, new dangers are arising for the remote and rural portions of upstate New York and Vermont, where massive flooding has already devastated several small communities.

Throughout upstate New York's Catskill Mountains, several small towns have been completely submerged by floodwaters, which have roared down the region's many rivers and streams.

Much of the land in the area was already waterlogged when Irene arrived, dumping another 10-15 inches of rain.

The local news website Watershed Post has kept a running tally of local reports of "devastation" in the small towns in the region.

In Windham, for instance, news sources and images linked on the site have depicted a scene of "total destruction," with most houses in the low-lying parts of town covered to their roofs in water. The town has been "wiped out," in the words of Windham Fire Chief Michael Scarey, according to the Mid Hudson News.

Commenters on the site have described a rapidly deteriorating situation, with the local emergency services reportedly being completely overwhelmed by the number of people in need.

Financial Markets Will Be Open Monday After Dodging Worst of Irene’s Wrath

U.S. stock, bond and commodity markets will open as usual tomorrow after Manhattan was spared the worst of Hurricane Irene, avoiding the first shutdown due to weather since 1985.

NYSE Euronext (NYX), Nasdaq OMX Group, Bats Global Markets and Direct Edge Holdings LLC -- the largest operators of equity exchanges in the world’s biggest capital market -- sent statements saying they plan normal trading sessions tomorrow. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommended no change to bond-market schedules, and CME Group Inc. (CME) said the New York Mercantile Exchange will open.

“Exchanges had prepared for the worst, and thankfully the worst didn’t materialize,” Chris Isaacson, the chief operating officer at Bats, said in a phone interview. “The U.S. securities industry is very resilient,” he said. “Because of the electronification of markets, most systems are not dependent on humans being there.”

While the public face of U.S. equity trading is the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, about 13 percent of the nation’s volume took place on that venue in the past year. Almost all of the rest is handled electronically, with orders matched in data centers in New Jersey and elsewhere.

Storm Surge

Irene struck New York City with winds of 65 miles (105 kilometers) an hour, the National Hurricane Center said in a special advisory at 9 a.m. local time. A storm surge of 3.8 feet was reported at New York Harbor and total water levels of almost 8.6 feet, or moderate-stage flooding, were reported at Battery Park City in lower Manhattan before receding, the hurricane center said.

“It wasn’t as bad as expected,” said Brian Pfeffer, chief operating officer at Direct Access Partners LLC, a New York- based brokerage with about 20 employees that work on the NYSE trading floor, in a phone interview today. “I don’t see a problem with trading tomorrow at all.”

Direct Access tested systems last night and was told by the management company that its office building where 60 more employees work, 40 Wall Street, would be open, Pfeffer said. He expects to drive to work tomorrow from Manalapan, New Jersey, or take a ferry if the Holland Tunnel isn’t operating normally.

“As for Monday, my plans are to leave around 3 a.m. to be sure to get in early and check with NYSE and our systems people,” Doreen Mogavero, chief executive officer of Mogavero Lee & Co., who trades on the NYSE floor, said in an e-mail today. “As long as systems are good and phone lines are up it should be business as usual.”

Subways Shut

The storm forced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to shut New York City’s transportation system and prompted Mayor Michael Bloomberg to evacuate low-lying areas.

With trading poised to resume as normal, the focus of securities professionals turned to travel as New York City’s subways remained closed and flooding and debris affected train routes. The Metropolitan Transit Association, which operates lines serving the largest U.S. city, resumed limited bus service in the afternoon. It hadn’t disclosed as of 7:12 p.m. when subways will begin. Parts of the MTA’s Connecticut and New York rail lines may have “substantial damage,” the agency said.

New Jersey Transit will operate on a modified schedule tomorrow, it said in an e-mailed statement. Crews are assessing storm damage and will make necessary repairs, and commuters should not expect a normal day, it said.

“It’s safe to say it’s going to be a tough commute” tomorrow, the mayor said during a press conference today. He is the majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Hurricane Gloria

Hurricane Gloria, on Sept. 27, 1985, was the last time weather shut U.S. equities markets for an entire day. On Jan. 8, 1996, the New York Stock Exchange opened late and closed early after a snowstorm dumped 22 inches (55.9 centimeters) of snow on the city by dawn.

Stock trading stopped for four days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan. The most recent shutdown was on Jan. 2, 2007, to observe a national day of mourning for former President Gerald R. Ford, who died on Dec. 26, 2006.

“Post 9/11, we and other markets spent a great deal of time getting ready and building emergency disaster recovery-type functionality,” Eric Noll, an executive vice president for transaction services at New York-based Nasdaq OMX, said during an interview yesterday.