Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 37 ℃ | Low: 26 ℃ | Sunny weather for today.
🧐 Did you know? One of the first banks in the city, The Bank of Madras, was formed by amalgamating the Carnatic Bank and the Asiatic Bank.
🎨 Mural musings
Several walls and buildings in the city have been transformed thanks to mural artists.
What’s it about? Murals have been a significant art form for decades across the world. They’ve been used to depict people’s lives and important social justice movements. In Chennai, street artists have helped change the face of streets with their unique creations.
- A-Kill’s work in Kannagi Nagar depicts two smiling sisters from the fishing community. The inspiration is overlooked communities that are taken from street photography.
- The journey from hip-hop street dancer to graffiti artist began in 2010 for Vijayraj aka Vijz. His work titled “Plastic for Change” portrays the living conditions of waste collectors.
A grassroots effort: The Kri Foundation’s Paint Box Movement encourages individuals from the grassroots to beautify their surroundings. The foundation has curated projects in collaboration with scrap collectors in Greams Road, The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu, and Urur Kuppam residents in Besant Nagar.
📚 A need for kids’ Lit Fests
While Chennai has a vibrant reading community, there should be a dedicated literature festival for kids to encourage youngsters to read.
What’s it about? The annual Chennai Book Fair sees thousands of people of all age groups, including kids, navigate through the stalls to see what piques their interests. However, schools and other organisations don’t host literature festivals for kids like in cities like Bengaluru, Kolkata, and New Delhi.
- A literature festival for kids will be quite different from one for adults. In Delhi’s Bookaroo Fest, for example, people connect with like-minded creative people in children’s literature.
- Literature festivals for kids also need to cater to their different interests and have sessions based on topics and activities that can improve their social and interpersonal skills.
What are the challenges? The decrease in the number of independent bookstores is one reason since they help organise and popularise literature festivals. Another issue is funding and interest. If people show an interest, then it could happen.
🐟 Fish prices increase
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As the fishing ban comes into effect, prices have increased with lower supply across markets.
What’s it about? The fishing ban came into effect from Monday midnight. Across city markets, including at the Kasimedu fishing harbour, the supply has reduced, pushing up prices. For some varieties, the prices have almost doubled.
- During normal periods, fisherfolk at Kasimedu would bring in almost 10 tonnes of different varieties on weekends. Over the past couple of weekends, the catch has decreased to below 5 tonnes.
- The prices of commonly consumed varieties like Sankara, Vaaval, and Vanjiram have spiked. Currently, fishermen at Kasimedu go fishing only five months a year.
Some exceptions: The fisheries department could allow deep-sea vessels after checking if the boats are carrying banned nets. Special colours could be assigned to differentiate them from other boats.
🛵 Chennai’s bike taxi conundrum
With no proper regulation, bike taxis have become a flashpoint between them and auto drivers.
What’s it about? Bike taxis operate in a regulatory grey area with no government regulation so far. Hence, they’ve become the centre of contention with auto drivers. A group of auto drivers filed a complaint with the local police accusing bike taxi operators of undercutting their earnings and endangering public safety.
- Bike taxi operators have started to accept dual bookings for single trips to maximise their earnings. That means two to three passengers on the bikes in some instances. They evade the police by wading through inner streets.
- In some cases, auto drivers have confronted bike taxi drivers. Some passengers have taken the side of bike taxi operators since auto drivers often overcharge and don’t adhere to the meter.
Transport department spectates: The state transport department hasn’t done anything, citing an open court case. The Madras High Court had asked the government to establish rules for all transport aggregators. The initially drafted rules were retracted since they preferred to deem bike taxis illegal.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you buy meat and fish online or in person?
- I buy meat and fish online.
- I buy meat and fish in person.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your favourite alcoholic beverage?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Domestic airfares from Chennai to other metro cities and small towns have increased due to high demand.
- To increase voter turnout, the Chennai Corporation held a Vote and Greet campaign at Elliot’s Beach.
- Velachery residents want candidates from all parties to address their flood mitigation concerns.
- The Chennai Weekend Clickers (CWC) exhibition celebrates its 10th year with a series honouring nature.
- A pedestrian subway that links East and West Tambaram has been locked for months, and residents want it opened.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I use public transport when visiting another city: 60.0% 🏆
- I use private transport when visiting another city: 40.0%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s a good habit you would like to have?
Suchi: “To eat healthy every day.”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!