Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: High: 37 ℃ | Low: 27 ℃ | Mostly sunny for the day.
🧐 Did you know? Kovalam, once known as Covelong, was once an important port of the Nawabs of Carnatic.
🏖️ Blue Flag status
The Marina Beach moves one step closer to securing a Blue Flag status.
What’s it about? The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) has submitted detailed project reports (DRPs) for Marina Beach and three other beaches across the state. The Kovalam Beach, Chengalpattu, was the pilot project for the Blue Flag Certification Programme.
- To get the certification from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), 33 criteria need to be met. The DRPs have been prepared to comply with them.
- The Blue Flag project will be under the Tamil Nadu Sustainably Harnessing Ocean Resources and Blue Economy (TN-SHORE) project and the Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission with help from the World Bank.
Developing beaches: The Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) has plans to develop some of the city’s beaches from Injambakkam to Akkarai, the Kasimedu and Tiruvottiyur beaches. It includes landscapes, walkways, food courts, and attractions.
🏞️ Redevelop the Velachery Lake
The CMDA is working on a plan to restore and redevelop Velachery Lake with facilities and attractions.
What’s it about? The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) to beautify the Velachery Lake with a park, bike lanes, walkways, and observation decks. Officials are looking to improve the blue-green infrastructure to combat global warming.
- The beautification will include amphitheatres, flower and butterfly gardens, and herb gardens. Residents have complained about how the lake has shrunk from 265 to 210 acres due to encroachments.
- The urban heat island effect affects pockets of the city, which become warmer than the surrounding rural areas.
Residents’ complaints: Many encroachments are government buildings, and residents see no use in registering complaints. For some, just removing the encroachments is enough, and they don’t want parks near the lake.
📹 Monitoring Besant Nagar Beach
The Chennai Corporation has installed 12 CCTV cameras to keep an eye on illegal activities at Besant Nagar Beach.
What’s it about? The 12 cameras were installed near the Arupadai Veedu Murugan temple in Kalakshetra Colony. The civic body spent a week negotiating with the fishermen in Thiruvanmiyur Kuppam, who initially opposed the move.
- There were reports that miscreants were seen digging the beach to lay foundation and sinking borewells near the sea. Debris was also illegally dumped at the beach.
- The Corporation also installed a board that read, “Construction activities and debris dumping are banned on the beach”. Some parts of the roads were also ‘black-topped’.
Affects flood mitigation: The beach is a natural drain where water from the Kalakshetra Colony drains into the sea. If the drain gets filled with garbage and debris, the area won’t drain if there’s flooding.
🚇 Phase 2 first line
The Porur-Poonamallee line will likely be the first to open as part of the metro’s phase 2.
What’s it about? Construction on this line is on track since ballastless tracks could be installed by October. Trial runs will follow with the new driverless trains, and the line could open by next November.
- The stations are being built, including the entry and exit points. Electrification is also progressing as workers install overhead equipment to power the trains.
- The Porur-Poonamallee line covers 8 km with 10 elevated stations. It’s part of the 26.1 km corridor 4 from the Lighthouse to Poonamallee bypass.
Passenger convenience: Once the corridor opens, passengers can take a direct train from the Lighthouse to the Poonamallee bypass. They can also switch trains at Nandanam or Velachery to travel to the Central and Egmore railway stations.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you think India can host the Olympics?
- India can host the Olympics.
- India can’t host the Olympics.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The cleanup projects for the Adyar and Cooum rivers have yielded little results.
- To combat climate change, the Chennai Corporation will partner with NGOs and resident associations to plant 1 crore saplings.
- An IIT Madras study shows how employee performance can be improved through artistic therapy.
- Households in Korattur will soon get new sewage connections.
- Following dry and hot days, the IMD and weather bloggers have forecast rain and thunderstorms.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!