Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Cloudy with a chance of rain.
🧐 Did you know? St Thomas Mount is traditionally held to be the site of the martyrdom of the apostle St Thomas. He reportedly found Christian communities on the west coast of India and came to Mylapore.
🛣️ No space for vehicles
The daily commute in the southern suburbs has become a hassle due to encroachments and illegal parking.
What’s it about? In several southern suburbs, commuting has become a daily hassle due to encroachments affecting the flow of traffic and pedestrians. Pedestrians often have to walk on the road with no space on the pavement.
- At Rajendra Prasad Road in Chrompet, for example, two-wheelers have taken over the pavements. In Tambaram and Sembakkam, encroachments have narrowed the space for vehicles.
- Adding to the encroachments, the roads are also in bad shape, leading to increased travel times. Some encroachments in Sembakkam have been removed.
What are officials doing about it? The Tambaram Corporation has begun to inspect affected roads due to repeated complaints. They’ve launched a drive to remove encroachments. The first phase saw 50 removed on a 1.5 km stretch of the Old GST Road.
🌊 Korattur Lake pollution
Despite blocking discharge into the lake, sewage and effluents continue to pollute the lake.
What’s it about? Sewage from households and industrial effluents continue to flow into the Korattur Lake despite the Corporation identifying and blocking illegal connections.
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the state pollution control board to handle hazardous waste. Korattur is spread over 600 acres. It has SIDCO industrial estate in the south and residences in the north.
- The NGT order has only been partially fulfilled. The sewage is drained into the stormwater drains connected to water channels from illegal connections.
No progress: Officials said while effluents have reduced over the years, it continues unabated in several spots. This is despite a court order banning drainage connections in water catchment areas. The underground drainage work remains stagnant in some areas, and repeated demands for money continue.
🙏🏼 A good influence
Three people from the city are using social media to raise money for good causes.
What’s it about? While influencers usually use social media to chase likes and views, some use them for good. Three Chennaites are using Instagram to inspire their followers to help the needy and poor.
- Mohamed Ashik’s popularity grew when his English with Merlin video went viral. An IT professional during the day and a philanthropist on the weekends, he wanted to do something different.
- Thahir Hussain has a dream to ensure people don’t have to live on the streets. He’s helped raise ₹10-15 lakh through his followers to help people. Hemandh Kumar spends a chunk of his salary on groceries and essentials for the homeless.
Details: Mohamed Ashik can be found at @abrokecollegekid. Thahir Hussain is @muyarchipayanam, and Hemandh Kumar is @whacky_patroll.
🚶 A new foot-over bridge
The highways department has proposed a foot-over bridge near Anna Arch.
What’s it about? The state highways department will construct a foot-over bridge at the Nelson Manickam Road – EVR Periyar Salai junction near the Anna Arch to ease traffic flow and help pedestrians.
- This is an arterial road that experiences heavy traffic throughout the day. Apart from the traffic, the junction is also clogged due to a grade separator towards Anna Nagar arch in the west and toward Nungambakkam in the south.
- The proposed bridge will be 5.8 metres wide and over 47 metres long. It’ll have 3.2 metre-wide stairs on either side of the carriageway, escalators, and elevators. CCTV cameras will be installed to ensure pedestrian safety.
Other facilities: According to the tender document, there’ll also be a public address system to make announcements and play songs.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Have you ever attended a pub quiz night?
- I have attended a pub quiz night.
- I haven’t attended a pub quiz night.
❓ Today’s Question
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Which city personality would you read a biography about?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Chennai will receive light rainfall till Tuesday, though the monsoon hasn’t arrived yet.
- Guindy evolved from an inaccessible neighbourhood during British rule to a point of commerce and development.
- The Park’s Six ‘O’ One has a revamped menu with cuisines from across the world.
- Anna University plans to introduce a new subscription model for e-books and journals.
- A group of women artists from Kerala will headline a three-month-long exhibition at DaskhinaChitra.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!