Good morning, Bengaluru!
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny with clear skies.
🧐 Did you know? Bengaluru had a film theatre called Plaza on MG Road that only screened English-language films. It was set up in 1936 by AS Krishnamoorthy and Rajamanickam Velu, who modelled it on the Piccadilly Circus in London.
🤝 MoU to improve elderly care
NIMHANS is collaborating with an NGO to improve senior citizens’ quality of life.
Story so far: On April 10, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT), an NGO looking after geriatric healthcare. The collaboration will involve outreach, training, and research on geriatric care.
- Dr Pratima Murthy, Director at NIMHANS and Dr Radha S Murthy, managing trustee of Nightingales Medical Trust, signed the MoU.
- The partners will undertake collaborative research projects to devise best practices in elderly care. They will focus on ways to identify, deter, and control age-related physical and mental health conditions.
Details: For the past year, NIMHANS’ Department of Geriatric Psychiatry has been providing mental health support to elderly residents from the NMT-run Sandhya Suraksha Home and Sandhya Kirana Home. Their latest collaboration will take this a step further.
- It’s focused on improving the quality of life for India’s aged population. It will benefit everyone in society by helping seniors battle mental health issues.
🔌 E-autos lag in eco-race
There are only a meagre number of e-rickshaws in a city teeming with lakhs of autorickshaws.
Story so far: The adoption rate of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Bengaluru is laudable. But the same cannot be said for e-rickshaws in the city. E-rickshaws form around 1% of the lakhs of autorickshaws doing the rounds daily.
- High costs are an issue. E-autos cost ₹3.5 lakh and retrofitting the older ones costs Rs ₹1.5 to ₹1.75 lakh. Most drivers don’t get bank loans, and the subsidies are low too.
- There are very few charging stations. The ones set up by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) don’t have a dedicated autorickshaw line.
Solution: BESCOM has invited solutions from the public. They are willing to consider the autorickshaw drivers’ pointers on the areas with scant stations. Experts believe that the government should increase subsidies since huge costs are a major impediment.
💃 A healthy new spin
The demand for Pole dance lessons is climbing higher every day in Bengaluru.
Story so far: After gaining favour from all corners of the world, Pole dance has now come to Bengaluru. Dance schools are providing specialised classes in pole dancing, incorporating it into fitness routines.
- Enquiries about pole dance lessons prompted Astha Gulati to introduce the dance form in her studio. It’s become one of the fastest-filling classes.
- It’s also becoming a favourite form of fitness and strength training. Neeraja Subramanian took interest in the dance form during the lockdown, and it helped increase their physical awareness.
History: The use of poles for sports has various traditional influences. The contemporary variant of the dance form is a fusion of the Chinese pole, rooted in the 12th century, and the Indian pole called Mallakhamb.
😷 Mock drills for covid preparedness
Victoria Hospital conducted a mock drill to test its preparedness for a surge in Covid-19 positive patients.
Story so far: When Covid-19 cases in India are soaring high, the Victoria Hospital conducted a mock drill on Tuesday to test the facility and healthcare providers’ preparedness to tackle a Covid-19 surge.
- The drill checked the availability of oxygen and ventilator-supported beds and ICU beds, doctors, oxygen supply, and medical stocks. They have demarcated a block for Covid-19 patients with 50 beds.
- A doctor feigning to be first a stable patient and later an unstable patient was attended to by the staff and faux-treated with the appropriate equipment.
Results: The doctors and staff at Victoria Hospital are optimistic about their capacity to effectively handle a spike in Covid-19 cases. The hospital’s oxygen tank capacity is nearly 30 kilolitres, and they have treated over 15,000 Covid-19 positive patients since the pandemic broke out.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you subscribed to Youtube Premium?
- Yes, I have subscribed to Youtube Premium.
- No, I haven’t subscribed to Youtube Premium.
❓ Today’s Question
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Who was your favourite cartoon character growing up?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Silt dumps turn Bengaluru neighbourhoods into dust bowls.
- Find out how some civic officials mistreat BBMP marshals.
- Foxconn may start the construction of its Bengaluru plant in May.
- The cVIGIL app has recorded 460 complaints regarding model code of conduct violations till April 11.
- I-T search in Karnataka’s co-op banks reveals fund routing worth ₹1,000 crore.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have neat handwriting: 40.0%
- I don’t have neat handwriting: 60.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your favourite variety of mango?
Sriranga: “Alphonso, Badam, Neelam & Raspuri”
Manjushree: “Raspuri 🥭”
Datta: “Mulgoba. Alphonso is overrated :P”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!