Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Clear and sunny skies for today.
🧐 Did you know? The name of Cenotaph Road can be traced back to the monument built in memory of Lord Cornwallis, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of India from 1786 to 1793. The area was once called the Hyde Park of Madras.
👷♂️ Jobs for the intellectually challenged
Companies have started to employ people who are intellectually challenged, thanks to training.
What’s it about? 40-year-old Mustafa got a job at a Shell petrol station in ECR thanks to vocational training courses and the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD). Companies like Shell partner with NGOs and other local organisations. Two years of job hunting were difficult because of his mobility issues.
- The NIEPMD’s Department of Adult Independent Living (DAIL) looks to map candidates and place them with companies near their place of residence.
- Shell is one company that hires people with disabilities. It has 37 retail outlets with 75 specially-abled service champions.
Who said what? Sanjay Varkey of Shell Mobility India said some of their sites have a higher number of women or specially-abled people. K Balabaskar from DAIL said pre-placement orientation plays a role in understanding an employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
🖧 AI company recognised in the UK
Chennai-based Autointelli wins Best Automation Software for 2022 at British Parliament.
What’s it about? As part of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), city-based Autointelli was invited to the British Houses of Parliament and awarded the Best Automation Software for 2022 trophy. The company specialises in AI for IT, helping governments and companies with its end-to-end infrastructure platform.
- The company helps its clients by handling backups, data restoration, and data centres during difficult times, like it did during the pandemic.
- Its infrastructure has an application monitoring system, an event management system, a self-service portal, and a centralised dashboard, among other features.
Who said what? CEO Pradeep Kumar said the recognition validates the company’s success and motivates them to move forward for a successful year.
🛺 Regulating share autos
The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has proposed a plan to regulate share autos and increase their usage.
What’s it about? Share autos are the second-most popular mode of public transportation in the city. The CUMTA wants to regulate them and make them an integral part of public transportation to reduce dependency on private transport. The plan is to deploy them strategically in areas where buses can’t operate to offer commuters an option.
- The plan is to regulate and deploy them for last-mile connectivity in places unserved by MTC buses. Most share autos compete with buses and contribute to reduced MTC income.
- A 2013 study from the Centre of Public Policy Research (CPR) showed more than 18 lakh people use share autos daily. 65% of people who use share autos do so every day.
Statistics: The city has less than 3,500 MTC buses and about 12,000 share autos, making more than 2.5 lakh trips daily. Share autos cover a total distance of 16.20 lakh km every day.
📸 Illegal night safari
A group has organised illegal night safari trips to Chengelpet for bird spotting.
What’s it about? A group has organised illegal rides and night safari trips at Madurantakam in Chengalpet to take pictures of birds. It has inconvenienced birds that come there to roost, like the species of harriers. Similar incidents have been reported in Wallajahbad and Mamandur lakes and other water bodies.
- To take the pictures, the groups stay once the sun sets and use flashlights to navigate and spot the birds. Other groups go to the Kaverippakkam lake to photograph species like the red-necked falcon and short-eared owl.
- Migratory birds feast on locusts and crickets. The groups enter because the lakes don’t have any water, and they bribe the locals.
Taking notice: A couple of weeks ago, locals informed the Public Works authorities about a group from Chennai. One official said since the media is covering this, officials will now monitor the movement of vehicles in the area.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you ever tried go-karting?
- Yes, I have tried go-karting.
- No, I haven’t tried go-karting.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s the best ice cream topping?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Chennai Corporation sets late March or early April for area sabha meetings.
- 500 private buses will operate across the city by the end of the year on behalf of the MTC.
- The milling of roads has started by the Corporation under the Singara Chennai 2.0 initiative.
- The metro’s phase 2 will have exclusive service lanes for all stations.
- 20,000 buildings on poromboke land will be assessed by the Corporation for property tax.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer to wear glasses: 81.8% 🏆
- I prefer to wear contact lenses: 18.2%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your preferred smartphone brand?
Vigneshwaran: “Samsung is ok.”
Kavi: “Google, Samsung”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!