Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: High: 36 ℃ | Low: 27 ℃ | Mostly sunny weather for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The oldest structure operated by the Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewage Board is the Kilpauk Water Treatment Plant. It’s 110 years old.
📚 Mecca for books and reading
The Discovery Book Palace provides a haven for bookworms.
What’s its history? Vediyappan M had dreams of becoming a writer. Chennai was a place where he could interact with fellow writers and short stories and screenplays in Tamil. Noticing a dearth of Tamil literary works, he envisioned a bookstore to celebrate Tamil literature. The Discovery Book Palace was born in 2009.
- Business has boomed since its launch. It’s also a publishing house that has published 550 Tamil language books. He also wanted a space for readers to meet and interact. The bookstore relocated to KK Nagar in 2022.
- Spread across 4,800 sq ft, it’s now a two-story building with a cafe. The bookstore has books on modern literature, international classics, science, and history. There’s the Jeyakanthan Kudil, an open hall for book launches.
Clientle: Those who frequent the bookstore are kids and people above the age of 30. Vediyappan’s dream is to open more bookstores as people increase and improve their reading habits.
🏞️ New use for Race Club land?
The land chosen to be retrieved by the government could be used to develop a park.
What’s it about? The Madras Race Club (MRC) was shut down by the government due to several payment and construction violations. In choosing to retrieve 148 acres of leased land from MRC, the government might have stumbled onto something – a chance to build a park instead of turning it into a concrete jungle.
- A park, much like Central Park in New York City, is something Chennai could use. The city has only about 5% of lung space compared to over 20% in most developed cities. It’s a chance to give Chennai a much-needed expansive green space.
- The park could also be a sponge to absorb rainwater and be a flood control measure. The park could have artificial ponds and wooden areas. There could be spaces dedicated to outdoor and indoor sports and recreation.
Violations: The MRC had 148 of the 160 acres leased, and the government stipulated that no further encroachments or construction should take place. Only horse racing and other sports and games were allowed. However, the MRC built a banquet hall and other facilities without permission.
⛟ E-highways
A tech trial run of EVs was inaugurated to upgrade highways into e-highways.
What’s it about? The National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) inaugurated its third tech trial run of Electric Vehicles (EVs) to upgrade five state highways into e-highways.
- The trial was flagged off from Chennai to cover a 322 km stretch to Trichy on World EV Day. The trial included electric and hydrogen-powered freight vehicles.
- The data from the trial run between Chennai and other locations will be used to determine optimal locations for charging stations, associated costs, and the overall investment needed for e-highways.
Overall goals: The project aims to reduce logistics costs across India from 14% to 9%. The focus will be on decarbonising the trucking industry and transitioning to zero-emission. Among the 5 routes in consideration is Chennai-Trichy.
⚕️ Historic thyroid cancer surgery
The Apollo Cancer Centre performed the state’s first scarless Robotic Thyroidectomy.
What’s it about? Thyroidectomy involves surgically removing all or a part of the thyroid gland with the Robotic Assisted Breast Axillo Insufflation Thyroidectomy (RABIT) technique. This technique doesn’t leave a visible scar on the neck.
- The procedure is minimally invasive where the gland is removed through a small 4 mm cut in the underarm. The robotic system provides 10x magnification and a 3D view.
- This type of surgery has been used on a couple of patients with successful postoperative results. The recovery has been quick with minimal pain and no visible scars.
New standard: This technology represents a significant advancement in robotic thyroid surgery. It could become an ideal choice for patients suffering from thyroid cancers.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you own more than one personal vehicle?
- I own more than one personal vehicle.
- I don’t own more than one personal vehicle.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your favourite chaat item to eat?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- A new initiative was launched by the government to provide health checkups for sanitary workers.
- Over 1,500 Vinayagar idols installed across the city will be immersed this Sunday.
- Disability rights activists have written to the Chennai Corporation about inaccessible footpaths.
- The Chennai Traffic Police has introduced the option to pay fines via UPI and QR codes.
- Car manufacturer Ford has begun discussions with the state government about viable options for its Chennai plant.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I’m allergic to a food item: 42.9%
- I’m not allergic to a food item: 57.1% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What souvenir best represents Chennai?
Suchi: “Thanjavur bommai”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!