Good morning, Chennai!
🌥️ Today’s weather: High: 30 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Mostly cloudy for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The first editions of The Hindu, a tri-weekly in the 1880s, were printed at a Mint Street press.
🎭 Celebration of arts and culture
The second edition of “La Nuit Blanche” will once again showcase arts and culture front and centre.
What’s it about? The theme of this year’s event takes inspiration from the grand opulence of Versailles Palace, with seven unique spaces, experiences, and atmospheres for visitors. The event celebrates Franco-Indian culture, bringing the communities together and showcasing local talent.
- One of the performances is Alli Thilaga, a traditional koothu and drama by Thilagavathi Palani, in partnership with Shreya Nagarajan Singh Arts Development Consultancy. Thilagavathi is the first woman Kattaikkuttu performer to graduate from the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam.
- Another performance is titled Breathe, a Bharatanatyam performance by Deepali Salil and Sayani Chakraborty. The performance will showcase how breath influences the body’s emotions.
Greater purpose: Besides showcasing local artistic and musical talent, the event aims to make art accessible to all and promote cultural expression.
🛍️ Rain impact on Koyambedu
The Koyambedu market was a sight of stagnant water and rotting produce.
What happened? The Koyambedu market had over two feet of stagnant water, rotting fruits and vegetables, and other waste. Ankle-deep slush inside the market section made life difficult for vendors and customers.
- Heavy rains left the market with knee-deep water. It was then drained on Wednesday. Due to this, footfall was low and large quantities of vegetables were discarded.
- The market’s poor maintenance contributed to the challenge of cleaning up, and spaces were still covered in slush. It further deterred customers.
Poor sales: Ahead of the rains, panic buying had driven up the prices, but demand reduced sharply on Wednesday. Tomatoes were being sold at ₹120 per kg in the retail market. It had declined to ₹50. Normally, the market sees sales of 10 tonnes daily. Wednesday saw only 300 kg of produce sold.
🌊 Thiruvanmiyur flooding
10 cm of rainfall was enough for localities in Thiruvanmiyur to be flooded due to drain blockages.
What’s it about? During last year’s heavy rains in December, Thiruvanmiyur’s Kamarajar Nagar didn’t experience any flooding. This time, 10 cm of rain in 24 hours was all it took for water to enter the ground floor of houses on many streets. Drain blockages due to metro construction are said to be at fault.
- A study by a flood committee for Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) stated that drain work in Adyar was damaged for 200m in the north and 55m in the south for work on the Indira Nagar station. The metro rail work affected drains leading to the Buckingham Canal.
- Residents struggled to get water cans and food deliveries. Since the area rarely floods, Kamarajar Nagar received only two pumps. It took nearly 36 hours to clear the water.
T Nagar’s woes: Rameshwaram Street in T Nagar was another area that experienced flooding and water entered homes. Water usually flows from the street via Usman Road into the Mambalam Canal. However, blockages affected the flow.
🚇 Driverless train delivery
Alstom delivered the first driverless train for Chennai Metro’s phase 2.
What’s it about? Production on the driverless trains began this February, with 36 trains planned, each having three cars. The contract with Alstom includes training Chennai Metro personnel in operation and maintenance.
- The trains are made in India and can travel at 90km/h. Earlier this year, the mock-up car was unveiled at an event at the company’s Sricity site.
- The trains are equipped with Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems for driverless operations. They also have a regenerative braking system to save energy.
History: Alstom received the first contract for the Chennai Metro in 2010 and delivered 208 cars for phase 1. The company also tested and commissioned track work covering 45 km across the operational corridors.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Enjoy Tamil comedy at the Chennai Comedy Marathon this Saturday.
- Get in the spooky spirit at the Spooktacular Halloween Bash this Saturday.
- Return of the Dragon Machi with the highly-anticipated live concert of Hip Hop Tamizha Aadhi is happening this Saturday.
- Explore organic produce and have a fun-filled day at the Hibiscus Farmers’ Market this Saturday.
- Connect with artists as part of the ArtConnect event as a pre-cursor to Utsavam, this Saturday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- My locality was waterlogged due to the rains: 18.2%
- My locality wasn’t waterlogged due to the rains: 81.8% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which is your favourite vacation spot?
Chitra: “Any hill station”
Suchi: “Ooty”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!