Good morning, Bengaluru!
☁️ Today’s weather: High: 27 ℃ | Low: 20 ℃ | Mostly cloudy skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? In the late nineteenth century, Bangalore was divided into two jurisdictional regions. The British Cantonment, ruled by the Residency, and the native city or Pete, was governed by the Mysore kings.
☕ Judging coffee
Bengalurean Chandini Purnesh became one of the first Indian judges at the World Coffee Championships for Barista and Latte Art.
Who’s she? Chandini is a coffee enthusiast and one of South Asia’s pioneering Arabica Q graders. Her passion stemmed from wondering if the fermentation techniques from the wine industry could be applied to coffee.
- The process of becoming a judge involved several exams and sample tests with baristas. Her chances of being selected were bolstered by her certification as an Arabica Q grader, a prestigious credential in coffee quality.
- With three years of experience in assessing the qualities of coffee, she was chosen as a sensory and visual judge for the Latte Art and Barista categories.
Business ventures: Her passion for coffee led to the founding of LunyBee and the coffee chain First Coffee. She also manages her family’s estate – the Classical Group of Companies (Harley Estate).
🥭 Mango export record
The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) set a new record in mango exports.
What’s it about? KIA set a new record for mango exports, shipping 822 metric tonnes this year. That’s a 20% increase from the previous year’s 685 metric tonnes.
- 27 lakh mangoes were shipped from the airport, a 59% increase compared to the previous year. Destinations in the US, like San Francisco and Dallas Fort Worth led to a surge in demand.
- The airport’s network spans 60 international destinations, including major hubs like London, Dubai, Chicago, and Houston.
Facilities: The airport’s advanced cold storage facilities help maintain the quality and integrity of perishable goods.
🛣️ More elevated corridors
As many as 17 elevated corridor projects have been proposed for the city to help with traffic decongestion.
What’s it about? The city has a road network of over 12,800 km, and 80% of vehicles use the most congested routes. Over 1 crore registered vehicles have resulted in perennial traffic issues across the city. Officials have stated that elevated corridors are the solution.
- Among the proposals is the revival of the corridor from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle. Another is the 23 km corridor from KR Puram through Old Madras Road, Ulsoor Lake, and other areas.
- Other projects include the 10-km corridor from Marenahalli Main Road to Kanakapura Road and Talaghattapura, an extension of the existing Anand Rao Circle flyover to KR Circle, and extending the Ejipura flyover to Hosur Road.
Challenges and opposition: These ambitious plans have faced criticism from the public and urban transport experts. Elevated corridors will only shift congestion points and not eliminate them. Land acquisition is another challenge for these projects.
🚇 Metro Phase 3
The Union Finance Ministry cleared the Bangalore Metro’s phase 3 project.
What’s it about? With the finance ministry clearance of the ₹15,611-crore phase 3 project, officials now await the final approval from the Centre. The state government has also approved the tendering process for the 44.65 km phase 3.
- Phase 3 has two elevated stretches. The first stretch is 32.15 km and connects JP Nagar Fourth Phase on the western side of Outer Ring Road. The other 12.5 km line on Magadi Road connects Hosahalli and Kadabagere.
- The state government approved the revised cost of the project. It was previously over ₹16,000 crore. The deadline is 2028.
Complications: There’s a new proposal by the state government for double-decker flyovers in all upcoming metro projects to help ease traffic congestion.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Kids space enthusiasts can have an immersive experience at the Space-Themed Science Fest this weekend.
- Music lovers can catch some tunes at the SPB Classics live concert this Saturday.
- Bookworms can catch up with fellow bibliophiles at the Bangalore Reads Books event this weekend.
- Learn about sustainable living at the latest edition of the Sustainability Circle this Saturday.
- Celebrate Raja and SPB with this unique same-day Motta Maadi Music event this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I prefer reading books: 77.8% 🏆
- I prefer watching movies: 22.2%
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!