Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny and humid for today.
🧐 Did you know? The first studio with sound recording in the city was Srinivasa Cinetone, set up in 1934. Artists could then record in the city instead of travelling to Bombay or Calcutta.
🏙️ Chennai’s future housing needs
The CMDA will study and map the city’s housing needs till 2046.
What’s it about? The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) will seek to answer how the city’s housing needs will change and evolve in the years ahead. A consultant will assess the demand and supply patterns in the city to ensure housing policies can be implemented through the Third Master Plan.
- Across the Chennai Metropolitan Area, there’s a growing demand for housing and an urgency to meet this need, especially for low and middle-income households. It’s essential to cater to diverse needs across sizes and tenures.
- The goal is to improve existing housing and plan for the future. This could include student housing, affordable housing, or by regenerating existing areas and developing of green-fields.
Previous assessment: The state carried out a demand assessment of 8.3 lakh households in urban areas. It was under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’s (PMAY) four components – in situ rehabilitation, credit-linked subsidy scheme, beneficiary-led construction (BLC), and affordable housing in partnership (AHP).
🤝🏻 Working with Australia
The Chennai Corporation will work with the Australian government on education, healthcare, and other sectors.
What’s it about? In a meeting with Mayor R Priya, Australian Consul-General for South India Sarah Kirlew noted that India and Australia will coordinate knowledge sharing on subjects like education, environment, health, and gender issues.
- Given one of the goals is to improve education in the city, the mayor said she would talk to Australian officials to see what changes can be implemented.
- The Australian delegation was interested in the Corporation’s Gender Lab, which launched last year. They will visit the lab to see if they can implement it back home.
Previous attempts: The Corporation has signed sister pacts with cities like Denver and Frankfurt, but it hasn’t resulted in much. Residents say things haven’t improved, policies haven’t materialised from these pacts, and information isn’t public.
💸 Fiscally responsible Corporation
One of the new Corporation commissioner’s big tasks will be to continue its fiscal discipline.
What’s it about? As Dr J Radhakrishnan takes charge as the new commissioner, he’ll need to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Gagandeep Singh Bedi who emphasised the civic body’s fiscal discipline. Among the ways Singh did this was by asking authorities to avoid work value escalation in tenders.
- A Corporation official said they wanted to restrict wasteful expenditure by framing the project value on the structure of rates, which are fixed market prices for materials and products.
- The value of civic work increased by 3-6% due to delayed re-tendering and, in some cases, corruption. It’s expected that Radhakrishnan will follow his predecessor’s orders.
Past instances: Over the past decade, tenders were taken at excess costs ranging from 10-45%. Some of the stormwater drain and building work packages were quoted at 10% above the value.
🎨 Portraying village life
Three artists come together to depict the colours and themes of villages and rural landscapes.
What’s it about? Three artists, Kirubakaran N, Yuvaraj K, and Puviyarasu K, will present their work showcasing the uniqueness of rural and village life. Titled Pictorial Journey, the artists are sponsored by the state government, Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalai Kuzhu, and the Department of Art and Culture.
- Puviyarasu explores the charm of the village lifestyle and believes the landscapes reflect the interplay between natural and cultural influences. Kirubakaran’s works depict the lives of ordinary people he encountered during his travels.
- Yuvaraj likes to observe the environment that fills him with wonder. His work is expressed through various mediums and embodies the search for and understanding of different opinions.
Details: The show will run from May 19 to June 1 at the Kadambari Art Gallery, DakshinaChitra.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Samay Raina’s India Tour of standup continues with Live and Unfiltered this Sunday.
- A storytelling session through songs, with Songs and Stories with Lopa Mudra, this Saturday.
- Pizza lovers can take their kids to the Pizza making workshop for kids this Saturday.
- A Japanese Film festival will screen “I Shall Live by Myself” by director Shûichi Okita this Saturday.
- Chennai Chess Club invites you to its Chess-Chai-Connect event this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- My locality suffers from frequent power cuts in the summer: 50.0% 🏆
- My locality doesn’t suffer from frequent power cuts in the summer: 50.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s something your locality could improve upon?
Chitra: “The pavements”
Chandhru: “CCTV for our safety”
Nirja: “Waste disposal system”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!