Good morning, Chennai!
⛅ Today’s weather: Cloudy day with some sunshine.
🧐 Did you know? Central Station is considered the busiest railway station in South India, catering to over 5 lakh passengers a day.
🎶 “Roads So Annoying” song
A city band performed their anthem as part of the Roads So Annoying campaign.
What’s it about? Local band On the Streets of Chennai performed their anthem for the Roads So Annoying campaign at the Anna Nagar Tower Park. The song was composed by Arivu, and the campaign is to spread awareness about traffic rules. It’s a way to use art as a tool for a social cause.
- Lead singer Martin Jayakumar said the song is meant to capture the essence of the city’s traffic woes and how people violate traffic rules.
- After the performance, audience members interacted with the band members and exchanged stories about what annoys them about Chennai traffic.
👩💻 Technology for public safety
The Chennai Police is using new-age technologies to keep the public safe.
What’s it about? The new Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) under the Chennai Safe City Project (CSCP) will help the police keep a check on public spaces and ensure safety. AI-based software systems and alerts will help facilitate immediate action.
- Thanks to the new ICCC, over 5,200 CCTV cameras will be installed at 1,750 locations. Each camera will have a live feed and be monitored at the ICCC. There’s a new software system designed to alert the police to take action.
- Any SOS gesture will be captured, and an alert will go out to the ICCC. The feeds will be stored at a data centre, and the live feed will be available at the offices of six joint commissioners and twelve deputy commissioners.
Using AI in public transport: Artificial Intelligence-based panic buttons are in place in 500 Metropolitan buses. This will expand to 2,500 buses under the Nirbhaya Safe City Project.
🎭 Theatre festival returns
The Short+Sweet theatre festival will return to Chennai later this year.
What’s it about? The Short+Sweet, South India Theatre festival will return for its 9th edition in Chennai. It’ll be presented by the Prakriti Foundation and the Blu Lotus Foundation in collaboration with Alliance Francaise.
- The festival will begin on September 7 for a four-week run. Registrations are open for script entries, actors, directors, and independent theatre groups.
- The ten best plays will be picked by a panel and three by audience votes. They’ll make it through to the finals. Prizes will be given for Best Play, Actress & Actor, Director, and Script.
💍 NAC Jewellers milestone
The famous jewellers marked its 50th anniversary with its Golden Week Celebrations.
What’s it about? To commemorate the 50th anniversary, the store at Mylapore was lit up, and a bust of late founder N Anjaneyulu Chetty was unveiled. Anantha Padmanabhan, Chairman of NAC, thanked customers and staff.
- As part of the celebrations, the company announced a ₹50 lakh donation to different charities – ₹40 lakh to the Anandam Foundation and ₹10 lakh split evenly toward the Adyar Cancer Institute and Sankara Nethralaya.
- Padmanabhan spoke of following in his father’s footsteps and adhering to his philosophy of looking after the customers and employees.
Tradition: For many patrons, NAC has been the go-to store for their jewellery needs. Chief guest Doraisamy spoke of getting the jewellery blessed by the founder before he would receive it.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you used the Chennai Smart Bike facility?
- I have used the Chennai Smart Bike facility.
- I haven’t used the Chennai Smart Bike facility.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
If you were to write a book about the city, what would be its title?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Officials urged contractors to complete the stormwater drain work before the monsoon.
- Madipakkam, Manapakam, and Mugalivakkam roads are in poor condition and are affecting residents.
- 80 families evicted from Chitra Nagar at Koturpurram have been relocated to Maraimalai Nagar.
- Professor Baala Manikandan, the first owner of an F77, detailed his historic trip from Chennai to Leh in an electric sports bike.
- Hamleys Play launched its first store in Chennai at Phoenix Market City.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer using Swiggy: 83.3% 🏆
- I prefer using Zomato: 16.7%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What cuisine do you think needs better choices and representation in the city?
Chitra: “Traditional Tamilnadu cuisine”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!