Times Ledge
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, March 8, 2004: A co-founder of the annual Phagwah Parade dismissed concerns among New York’s Richmond Hill and Ozone Park civic leaders who are afraid the use of celebratory powders and liquids could serve as cover for a possible terrorist attack. Ramesh Kalicharran, who adapted the India parade in Manhattan to include Guyanese influences in 1990, said residents’ fears that parade participants could substitute anthrax or other lethal powdery substances for the official abrack, a pinkish powder, come from a lack of understanding. “This is all tradition, 5,000 years old,” Kalicharran said. “The themes (of Phagwah) are the triumph of good over evil and a commemoration of spring.” “It is a festival of colors,” he added. Participants in the Phagwah Parade spray the liquid and toss the powder in the air along the parade route. Betty Braton, chairwoman of Community Board 10, said she and other community representatives have been meeting with parade organizers to ensure both participants and residents are safe during the celebration scheduled for Sunday, March 14. She said the best way to guarantee the safety of the Queens community is to have the Phagwah celebration on private land rather than through the city’s public streets. Mary Ann Carey, district manager for Community Board 9, said she suggested Phagwah participants throw confetti instead of their traditional powder and liquid to make residents feel safer. She said the sealed packages in which the pink powder is enclosed presents a unique problem for police and other city authorities.