Good morning, Chennai!
☁️ Today’s weather: High: 32 ℃ | Low: 27 ℃ | Mostly cloudy weather for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The Doveton Clock Tower is the first standalone clock tower in the city. It was built in the early 1900s.
🖱️ Interactive show
A media tech company has released India’s first gamified interactive show.
What’s it about? The advancement of AI has expanded the boundaries of what’s possible, especially in the entertainment sector. Asiaville, based in Chennai and Kochi, has released India’s first interactive show where viewers can actively participate in the narrative.
- After securing the patent rights for Ayevee Interactive and Gamified Experience (AIGE) last year, Asiaville began experimenting with interactive shows. The trial was successful, and the team decided to enhance the format with bigger production values.
- The company launched two shows – “Who Killed Kavitha” in Tamil and “Let Me Out” in Malayalam. Both shows took 45 days to make and allow users to choose options to guide the narrative.
What’s next? The team now has 4 shows in the pipeline. OTT platforms have approached them for collaboration. They’re also working with the Electronic Sports Authority of Tamil Nadu (ESAT) to enhance gaming in the state and hosting a joint event at IIT Madras on August 31.
🔭 STEM park
The Chennai Corporation will set up the city’s first STEM Park in Perambur.
What’s it about? The Corporation has allocated ₹5 crore for the project, located at the Murasoli Maran Park in Perambur. It’s expected to open in two months. The park aims to be a place that blends learning and leisure to make education fun for kids.
- The science zone will be used to explain difficult concepts using models. There will also be exhibits demonstrating theorems. The space zone will have models of rockets and satellites with detailed explanations.
- The amenities will be spread across indoor and outdoor areas, with telescopes that offer a clear view of the cosmos.
For school students: The Chennai Corporation plans to bring one school a day to the park, focusing on students from higher classes.
🛍️ Tackling street vending issues
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Zonal-level sub-committees will now oversee vending issues at the local level.
What’s it about? The Chennai Corporation announced plans to set up zone-level sub-committees for the Town Vending Committee. It’s being done to ensure vending and non-vending issues are addressed at the local level. A common office space for meetings and ₹1,000 will be provided for committee members.
- In the past week, a drive was conducted to verify street vendors, and 33,000 were authenticated. They’ll each get ID cards for being authorised.
- Representatives of the street vendors have also asked civic officials if they can be relocated to alternative sites before being evicted from non-vending zones.
Timeline: In 2017, Chennai had 15 vending committees, one for each zone. There were concerns about the lack of meetings and discussions at the district level. An election held last year led to a 15-member unified committee.
👮 Rating police inspectors
The Chennai Police have introduced a star rating system for inspectors to improve accountability.
What’s it about? The new initiative, led by Commissioner A Arun, aims to improve the accountability of officers and improve their performance across the city’s police force. The officers will be evaluated based on different criteria and given a star rating.
- Among the criteria are responsiveness to the public, case-solving abilities, conviction rates, and the handling of non-bailable warrants. Inspectors will get ratings ranging from 0 to 5 stars.
- A similar rating system was introduced by former police commissioner Letika Saran and additional commissioner SR Jangid to encourage better performance. Cash awards and certificates were given to the top performers.
Alert system: Besides the rating system, the police have introduced an alert system for incidents. The control room will issue a red alert for terrorist threats, a yellow one for gangs, and an orange one for chain-snatching incidents.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Enjoy a day out at the Family Fun Day this Sunday.
- Petrolheads, catch India’s first street circuit night race this weekend.
- Nemophilis and The Pulse Theory join forces for A Tribute for the Ages this Sunday.
- One Direction fans can catch the Take Me Home fan event this Sunday.
- For aspiring filmmakers, there’s the Film Appreciation Workshop this Sunday onwards.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I drink tea or coffee everyday: 77.8% 🏆
- I don’t drink tea or coffee everyday: 22.2%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Who is your favourite Indian author?
Suchi: “Jayakanthan”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!