Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 35 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Sunny skies for today.
🧐 Did you know? The statues of Tamil scholars were established on Marina Beach during the second World Classical Tamil Conference in 1968.
🏏 Celebrating R Ashwin
Chennai’s own R Ashwin was felicitated for his milestones of playing 100 test matches and taking 500 wickets.
What’s it about? The Chennai cricket fraternity turned up to take a trip down memory lane and celebrate the off-spinner. He was presented a cheque for ₹1 crore and mementoes by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
- Ashwin recalled his entry into the Chennai Supre Kings (CSK) after a man-of-the-match performance in the TNCA First Division. He received a contract the following day.
- He also thanked former BCCI President N Srinivasan for backing him when he was on the verge of being dropped since he asked the team to play two off-spinners.
Place in history: Srinivasan, in the company of former greats like Srikanth, Anil Kumble, and Roger Binny, said Chennai’s history will now always include a world-class off-spinner.
🥗 Catering to wellness
Natureallé hosted its first wellness workshop for sustainable and nutritious offerings.
What’s it about? Natureallé is an earth-friendly, holistic health platform that encourages people to adopt a conscious way of life. Its first wellness workshop at the Pharos Hotel was with food consultant Chef Adhira.
- The event was all about being able to make lifestyle changes, big or small, to impact health and nutrition.
- The workshop included a hands-on cooking demonstration. Chef Adhira was chosen since she could develop concepts without compromising on flavour.
Mission: Natureallé aims to dispel the idea that sustainable cooking is beyond people’s reach. It’s a platform to make information and products on this issue accessible and curated all in one place.
🚇 Metro tunnelling at busy areas
Tunnelling for the upcoming phase 2 will begin at some of the city’s core busy areas in the coming months.
What’s it about? In some of the city’s busiest areas, like Royapettah and RK Salai, tunnelling will begin in the coming months as engineers look to begin work with minimal disruption to traffic. In places like Westcott Road and Peters Road, heavy traffic remains a challenge.
- The Royapettah station is planned below the junction with the YMCA grounds and the Government Royapettah Hospital on either side. Building the peripheral walls was challenging since they had to divert traffic on one side of the road.
- Officials also conducted a building survey and identified 26 in the station’s influence zone. A similar survey will be done before tunnelling begins.
Progress: Tunnelling is already underway in Madhavaram, Aynavaram, Chetpet, and Greenways Road. The elevated sections will be ready in 2025 and 2026, with the underground sections to follow.
🏗️ New look for North Chennai
Formerly a business hub, North Chennai will soon sport a new look thanks to 200 development projects.
What’s it about? 11 government departments, including the Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), will implement about 200 projects under the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam (VCVT) initiative. The total outlay for these projects is estimated to be over ₹4,100 crore.
- The CMDA surveyed North Chennai to identify infrastructure gaps and challenges faced by residents. Discussions that followed led to a priority list of 200 projects.
- The projects include renovating the Kasimedu and Tiruvottiyur beaches, Ennore market development, and the Chennai shoreline renourishment and revitalisation plan.
Status: 87 projects have been launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Some have already begun, like upgrades to the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar bus terminus two months ago. Others will begin in the coming months.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Would you rather try bungee jumping or skydiving?
- I would try bungee jumping.
- I would try skydiving.
❓ Today’s Question
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Which fictional character would you want to be friends with?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- 579 polling centres in the city will be intensely monitored since they’re identified as vulnerable.
- About 86 projects in North Chennai will be taken over by the Chennai Corporation.
- The World Classical Tamil Conference will return to the city next June.
- Traffic diversions were announced near Gemini flyover and Santhome to facilitate Chennai metro construction.
- The “Left is Right” campaign was launched by the Chennai Traffic Police to fine motorists obstructing ambulances.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!