Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny for the day.
🧐 Did you know? Parry’s Corner is named after Thomas Parry. He was a Welsh merchant who established the EID Parry Company in 1787. The company is now owned by the Murugappa Group.
🚗 More street parking
Thanks to the increased number of cars, the Corporation will add more on-street parking spaces.
What’s it about? On average, about 3,000 of the Corporation’s 5,000 equivalent car spaces (ECS) for on-street parking are full. The Corporation is now planning to increase this to 12,000. ECS is already present in places like Anna Nagar 2nd Avenue and Besant Nagar 6th Avenue.
- After on-street parking was implemented and deemed successful in places like T Nagar, known for its traffic congestion, officials want to replicate this in other areas.
- They’re currently surveying areas like frequent bus routes. A bus route road where there is adequate space for parking will be considered.
Challenges: The shift for parking attendants begins at 11.30 am and ends at 9.30 pm. Apart from being overworked, some residents don’t pay the fees, including politicians. Despite parking charges put on boards, some feel they are being overcharged.
🛣️ Widening GST Road
GST Road at Pallavaram will be widened to ease traffic on the Guindy-Tambaram route.
What’s it about? The state highways department has allocated ₹15.7 crore for the project to acquire defence land to widen the road. The existing 1.5-km flyover allows vehicles to only go from Tambaram to Guindy.
- Residents, particularly from the suburban areas, are forced to use the road below the flyover. Residents of Pallavaram and Chrompet have been asking for two-way traffic on the flyover, especially for two-wheelers during peak hours.
- Despite protests and the intervention of local MLA Karunanithi, the highways department said widening the flyover or two-way traffic isn’t possible. It did recommend widening the GST Road below the flyover.
Additional measure: There are plans to install another traffic signal to help motorists travelling to and from Pammal and Kundrathur from not taking a detour. This will also help pedestrians.
🛍️ Lifting up SHGs
The Chennai Airport helps support Self Help Groups (SHGs) by giving them visibility.
What’s it about? The pandemic severely impacted the ability of SHGs to reach customers and expand operations. Under the Airport Authority of India’s (AAIs) Airport As Venue For Skilled Artisans Of The Region (AVSAR) scheme, the Chennai airport launched a program last year to uplift local artisans and increase their visibility.
- Under the initiative, SHGs are given a platform to sell their handmade products in the domestic terminal for 15 days. 15 groups have already taken advantage of this initiative.
- They’ll be given a 100-200 sq feet space at the terminal’s Security Hold Area (SHA) on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Process: Interested SHGs can apply for the scheme through the AAI portal. The applications will be forwarded to the State nodal offer to be processed.
🏭 New OMRON facility
The health equipment maker has chosen Chennai as the location for its factory.
What’s it about? OMRON will set up its new factory at Origins by Mahindra, on the NH16 Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The new factory will begin operations in March 2025.
- The OMRON Healthcare facility will build blood pressure monitors at the new facility and supply them for the domestic market. It will be spread over 6 acres.
- The industrial cluster offers ready plug-and-play infrastructure to help businesses scale and market faster. It’s conveniently located on the Golden Quadrilateral with access to the Ennore and Kattupalli ports.
Pedigree: The first phase of Origins by Mahindra is spread across 307 acres and is home to several global companies like Mitsubishi Electric, Yanmar, Autogrip, and Track Design.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you regularly shop at duty-free stores when you fly?
- Yes, I regularly shop at duty-free stores when I fly.
- No, I don’t regularly shop at duty-free stores when I fly.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Which Indian airport do you think is the best?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Engineering counselling registrations have increased by more than 17,000 compared to last year.
- A new park will come up at the banks of the Adyar River.
- Chennai Metro will soon release promotional tickets to help increase ridership.
- India’s first international cruise flagged off from Chennai to Sri Lanka.
- Read an interview with Chennai Mayor R Priya a year after taking office.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have taken the Metro to at least one of the city’s transport hubs: 77.8% 🏆
- I haven’t taken the Metro to at least one of the city’s transport hubs: 22.2%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s the best place to get Pizza in the city?
Kalaiarasi: “Domino’s Pizza”
Chitra: “Domino’s”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!