Good morning, Chennai!
🌦️ Today’s weather: A little cloudy with the possibility of some rain.
🧐 Did you know? The first memorial to come up at Marina Beach was that of Queen Victoria, unveiled in 1887. It was to commemorate 50 years of her being the monarch.
✏️ Sketching Chennai
The Chennai Chapter of Urban Sketchers showcases the city one sketch at a time.
What’s it about? Urban sketchers is a global community of sketch artists who showcase the world through sketches. The Chennai chapter was set up three years ago but hasn’t yet received official recognition. The administration team comprises Mohan Krishnan, Namita Ravichandran, and Srishti.
- The team selects varied locations for their sketches and meets twice a month at these locations. People of all age groups and walks of life, from students to working professionals, join in.
- People without a sketching or drawing background are encouraged to join since it’s a great way to practice and learn about a location. The group also has architects who focus on the different styles of buildings.
Learnings: The group invites artists to share tips and teach about different techniques. It’s also an opportunity to join other chapters from around the world and learn about lesser-known heritage sites and attractions.
☔ Summer showers
Chennai could be seeing more summer spells of rain.
What’s it about? As May began, temperatures in most parts of the city dipped thanks to cloudy weather and some rainfall. The forecast is for more rainfall over the next couple of days in the suburbs, as many localities saw rains on Monday morning.
- Temperatures dipped to 33 and 33.3 degrees Celsius at the Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations, over 3 degrees below normal for this time of the year.
- For the next 24 hours, the city could see some thunderstorms with light to moderate rain and partly cloudy skies. Maximum temperatures will hover around 33-34 degrees Celsius.
It’s all about the wind: Chennai will likely get rainfall this week since the wind convergence is close to the coastal areas. Wind discontinuity is when there’s a sharp change in the speed and direction of opposing winds.
🛣️ Hoardings in urban areas
The government’s decision to permit hoardings is facing opposition from residents.
What’s it about? Chennai Corporation officials said the state government had passed an order under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act 2022 to grant permission to set up hoardings. It’s part of a plan to increase revenue under the World Bank’s Chennai City Partnership and a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
- Led by Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Revenue and Finance) Vishu Mahajan, officials have come up with a plan to improve the civic body’s finances through hoardings.
Concerns: Residents aren’t pleased. Some suggest property tax is a better alternative to increase revenue. Hoardings are seen as a distraction to motorists that can cause accidents. They can also block walkways.
🥭 From mango pulp to leather
Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) scientists have made leather from mango pulp.
What’s it about? At the city-based CLRI, scientists have created a leather-like material from mango pulp. It’s seen as an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic leather since the new material contains 50% mango pulp. While applying for a patent, the scientists transferred the technology to Mumbai-based startup Aamati Green Private Limited, which sponsored the R&D.
- 40% of mangoes grown are kept in the fields since they’re not up to quality standards. The process starts by mashing and boiling the leftover mangoes to eliminate bacteria.
- The team combined mango pulp with a biopolymer in liquid and powder form. This then underwent a process to make it into a sheet-like material. They then added a surface coating and design patterns.
Eco-friendly and economical: The entire process has a low to moderate carbon footprint compared to leather production from animal hides which requires animal skins and a lot of water. The manufacturing costs are about 60% less than synthetic leather production.
- Aamati founder Pratik Dadhania said they’d speak to fashion houses to produce eco-friendly accessories and also help incentivise farmers.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you attended a Chennayin FC football match?
- Yes, I attended a Chennayin FC football match.
- No, I haven’t attended a Chennayin FC football match.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What part of the city do you think needs more development?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Bids for the six-laning of the Walajapet-Ranipet-Chittoor section of the Chennai-Benagluru highway have been postponed.
- Food aggregators have increased their delivery and membership fees in Chennai.
- Parking issues in old apartment complexes are dealt with in an impartial manner.
- Skillveri Training Solutions, incubated at IIT Madras, trains US students in vocational skills and is now looking at the domestic market.
- Street dog management in the city is poor despite an Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I’m aware of Chennai’s Smart City initiatives: 30.0%
- I’m not aware of Chennai’s Smart City initiatives: 70.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What was your favourite Chennai memory growing up?
Chitra: “Sunday breakfast in Woodlands Drive-in restaurant.”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!