Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 40 ℃ | Low: 29 ℃ | Hot and humid for the day!
🧐 Did you know? The Pallikaranai marshland was once spread over 8,000 hectares. It stretched from East Coast Road to Madhya Kailash junction.
💸 Cash hunt
Arun Prasad finds interesting locations across Chennai to hide a little cash to brighten someone’s day.
What’s it about? Arun, a healthcare professional, was inspired by an Instagram page, which had little treasure hunts in Kochi. On weekends, he scouts locations. They aren’t random but have some significance. The best places are easy to hide and easy to reach.
- Hints for the locations are in his videos, which have gone viral. Usually, someone guesses the place within 20 minutes of him posting the video. The lucky person then records a video and comments “cashed”.
- The goal is to create a platform and community in the city to come together when the need arises. Arun also builds an audience to work on brand promotion.
What’s next? He’s currently working with Teaboy to offer 100 free cups of tea to the public. There are also plans for open mics and concerts with free ticket giveaways just like the money.
👩🎓 Preventing dropouts
Mudhal Thalaimurai helps girls continue their education through counselling and coaching.
What’s it about? Teachers at schools in Kannagi Nagar say teenagers in the area are addicted to drugs and alcohol, fall into bad company, and drop out of school. Girls especially are at risk of early marriages. The NGO Mudhal Thalaimurai helps them continue their education through counselling and coaching.
- Of the nearly 1,100 students from classes 6 to 12, 650 are girls, and 20% drop out. The organisation conducts evening tuition, and counselling sessions twice a week, and provides vocational training.
- Group activities include drawing, singing, and yoga to help improve their concentration. Many of the girls report low self-esteem and anxiety due to family issues.
Work so far: This year alone, Mudhal Thalaimurai has helped over 150 girls between the ages of 12 and 22 with group and one-on-one counselling.
💯 Chennai’s exam performance
Over 87% of students in the Chennai Corporation cleared the class 12 board exams.
What’s it about? The class 12 board exam results were announced, and Chennai recorded 87.13 pass percentage. Compared to the previous year, it’s a 0.27% increase. Nearly 5,000 students appeared for the exams in the 2023-24 academic year.
- The Girls Higher Secondary School in Nungambakkam secured a 100 pass percentage. The first rank among Corporation schools was 578 out of 600 at the Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School in Perambur.
- The Corporation school at MH Road recorded the third, fourth, and fifth ranks among the city’s schools.
Better marks: The number of students who secured between 551 and 600 increased from 42 to 52 this academic year.
🚆 Trains at Gummidipoondi
Commuters want express trains to make a stop at the Gummidipoondi station.
What’s it about? People from other states and those working in different industries in Gummidipoondi and the surrounding areas need to travel all the way to Chennai Central to board express trains. That’s because these trains don’t stop at Gummidipoondi. Commuters want this to change.
- Currently, only the Circar Express between Puducherry and Kakinada stops at Gummidipoondi. For people going to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Odisha, etc, it would be helpful if other express trains also make stops.
- With no dedicated tracks for express trains, EMU services are stopped to make way for them. This impacts passengers who need to travel to Chennai to board express trains.
What can be done? The Railway Board can take a call to allot a stop for express trains. For this, officials will need information on the number of passengers it would benefit. It has been done previously for other locations.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you visited a farm?
- I have visited a farm.
- I’ve never visited a farm.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What plants would you grow in a garden?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has asked the state’s Chief Secretary to provide a deadline for the Adyar River and Cooum restoration.
- Traffic diversions and congestion seem to be on the cards in T Nagar with the Usman Road flyover’s closure.
- 60 flying squads have been formed by TANGEDCO to fix power failures at night.
- Shuttler MR Balamurugan has his eyes set on further victories in the country’s table tennis scene.
- Developers in the city have recognised the need for pet-friendly spaces.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer the window seat on a flight: 68.7% 🏆
- I prefer the aisle seat on a flight: 31.3%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your go-to sweet tooth indulgence?
Suchi: “Jalebis”
Shiva: “Summer – Ice cream, Rest of the year – Palkova”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!