Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: More of the same with sunny weather.
🧐 Did you know? In 2011, Archaeologists found India’s oldest stone-age tools near Chennai. The stone hand axes and cleavers were dated as far back as 1.5 million years old.
✊ Starting them young
In some areas of north Chennai, thousands of kids hold bala sabha meetings to bring about societal change.
What’s it about? Nearly 3,000 kids between the ages of 8 and 18 living in places like Royapuram, KP Park, and Tondiarpet hold regular bala sabha meetings. They scour their neighbourhoods for pressing issues and submit petitions about them to the area councillors.
- The kids are assisted by NGOs like the Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children and the Information Centre for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC). They are grouped into 70 sabhas and trained in advocacy, social media, communication, and local body functioning.
- They’ve managed to bring about positive changes in their communities. Among the examples are ensuring the 44C buses are on time, removing encroachments at the Sunnambu Kalvai area, and constructing a bridge in Korukkupet.
History and goals: The Arunodhaya Centre began this initiative in 2021, covering 10 areas. It now covers 75. The issues at hand are discussed on WhatsApp among the members. Some of the issues being addressed are eliminating child labour, drug abuse, child marriage, and child sex abuse.
🚆 MRTS service suspended
The Beach-Chepauk MRTS service will be partially suspended till December.
What’s it about? The service on the Beach-Chepauk route will be suspended from July till December due to the laying of the 4.3 km fourth line between Beach and Park Town. Services on the remainder of the line between Chepauk and Velachery could continue.
- MRTS tracks from the Beach station run parallel to the other tracks used by suburban and express trains. After the Park Town station, it becomes an elevated line before connecting to Chintadripet.
- The fourth line may be built on the border of the Cooum on the southern side of existing tracks. To reduce passenger inconvenience, there are plans to offer shuttle buses and share autos.
Requirement: The fourth line was deemed necessary since the MRTS will be handed over to the state government. This new line will allow the railways to run express and goods trains. The MRTS tracks from the Beach to Fort will be taken over by the Chennai Metro.
🎕 Getting ready for the flower show
Semmozhi Poonga is getting some touchups ahead of the Chennai flower show.
What’s it about? The Semmozhi Poonga at Teynampet is getting some additions ahead of the flower show beginning on June 3. The park will have new granite walkways and other amenities.
- The air-conditioned event site will be spread across 20,000 sq feet. It’ll have 5,000 potted plants, several species of flowers, and displays made by cutting shrubs and flowers.
- On average, the park gets 20,000 visitors a week. The event is expected to bring in thousands of visitors. Due to the event, the park will be closed from June 1 to 8 for visitors.
Previous outing: Last year’s inaugural day saw 4,500 visitors. That number increased to over 14,000 on the second and 20,000 on the final day.
🚘 Lambo’s day out
The Lamborghini Bull run was a chance for the luxury supercars to have their day out.
What’s it about? The latest edition of the famous Lamborghini India’s Bull run focused on the physical sound of the cars and on their drivers’ minds and bodies. The bull run gets its name after the company’s raging bull logo.
- There were around 10 cars that lined up for a drive which began at the Leela Palace in MRC Nagar. The route took them down the East Coast Road to the Uthandi tollgate and ended at the ITC Grand Chola in Guindy.
- The event started with a yoga and stretching session by a wellness expert. The focus was on relaxing the back and shoulder muscles which are important for driving.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Music and Mayhem presents an Open Mic Night for musicians and storytellers this Saturday.
- Thinking Out Loud is the latest solo standup act from Manoj Prabakar this Sunday.
- The Oopar Social from the Oopar Club is hosting its first-ever social mixer in Chennai this Sunday.
- Masquerade Chennai presents the Know Your Theatre series celebrating Na. Muthuswamy this Saturday.
- Kutti Illavarasan is a Tamil play for kids happening today and tomorrow.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I have travelled on the Vande Bharat Express: 12.5%
- I haven’t travelled on the Vande Bharat Express: 87.5% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What store do you frequent the most?
Suchi: “Westside”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!