Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 34 ℃ | Low: 24 ℃ | Clear and sunny weather for today.
🧐 Did you know? The Connemara Library, established in 1896, has a collection of over 9 lakh books.
📖 Chronicling the Chennai Corporation
A new coffee table book covers the history of Chennai’s civic body.
What’s it about? The book “Caring for Chennai” by V Sriram was released by Chief Minister MK Stalin. It takes a look at the history of the country’s oldest civic body – the Chennai Corporation.
- The book traces the Corporation’s history with photos of old engravings and structures like Black Town (present-day George Town) and Fort St. George.
- There’s also a chapter dedicated to a public hall built by the Corporation. It was where public meetings were held, including where Swami Vivekananda addressed a gathering of 10,000.
Previous editions: The Corporation’s work was first compiled in 1940 when S Satyamurti was the mayor. There have been an additional three compilations between 1950 and 1972.
🏞️ A new park
A new hi-tech park named after former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will be set up at Cathedral Road.
What’s it about? The State Horticulture Development Agency (TANHODA) will set up a high-tech Super Tree Tower Park at Cathedral Road. It’ll be called the Kalaignar Centenary Park after the late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
- The park will be on par with the Royal Botanic Gardens in London and the Dubai Miracle Garden. It’ll have an air-conditioned glass house and a 30-metre tree tower with a viewing deck.
- The government wants this park to attract more visitors than the Senmozhi Poonga. The TANHODA has invited tenders for the new park. Once that’s finalised, the work will begin in three months.
Develop the landscape: The park will have flowers brought in from other countries, including Singapore. The government wants to develop the city’s landscape and attract more tourists and visitors.
🏢 Startup hub launched
StartupTN’s Chennai hub office was inaugurated by Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.
What’s it about? The Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development inaugurated the StartupTN’s new Chennai hub office at the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) building in Nandanam. It’s part of the government’s goal to nurture 15,000 startups and propel Tamil Nadu to be among the top 20 startup hubs globally by 2032.
- The facility is on the 10th floor of the CMRL building and offers on-demand accommodation tailored to their requirements to use as a workspace.
- The office has 15 cabins with designated office areas for venture capitalists and mentors. There’s also a meeting hall for investors and entrepreneurs.
State’s startup evolution: StartupTN is now a state nodal agency with its own headquarters. There are smaller startup hubs in other cities including Madurai, Trichy, and Salem.
🚇 No more luggage racks?
The Chennai metro is considering removing overhead luggage racks in its trains.
What’s it about? In the aftermath of the toughened glass breaking in a train last week, the Chennai metro is considering removing the overhead luggage tracks. The incident left four people with minor injuries.
- The incident happened on a train that arrived from the CMBT station when the glass panel of the rack shattered and fell on passengers. The injured passengers were given first aid and taken to hospital for treatment.
- The glass is designed to break into small blunt cubes. The Chennai Metro stated an investigation is underway to determine the cause and take preventive measures to prevent a repeat.
Change in plans: Officials say many passengers prefer to keep their luggage under the seat or close to them. In phase 2, the trains may not have the racks, and they’re considering removing them from existing trains.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Have you attended a local public civic body meeting?
- I have attended a local public civic body meeting.
- I haven’t attended a local public civic body meeting.
❓ Today’s Question
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Which fictional character’s life would you prefer to live?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Aavin milk packets continue to be sold in some shops above MRP.
- Anna University has allocated ₹25 lakh to set up a material research centre.
- The MTC has floated tenders to purchase 500 low-floor e-buses.
- A new desalination plant was inaugurated at Nemmeli to help 9 lakh get drinking water.
- Vidyodaya Schools has plans to open a study centre for civil service aspirants.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!