Good morning, Chennai!
⛅ Today’s weather: More of the same with sunshine and clear skies.
🧐 Did you know? Valluvar Kottam was inaugurated in 1976 and was a project close to former chief minister M Karunanidhi’s heart. The structure has 1,330 couplets of the Thirukkural engraved on the first floor.
🐦 Birds at Red Hills
A recent bird count revealed the wetlands had more than 10,000 birds of more than 100 species.
What’s it about? 10 water bodies in the Red Hills range of the Tiruvallur forest division has more than 10,000 birds from 112 species. These wetlands are close to farmlands that bring up insects and earthworms that the birds feed on. Naturalists say the water bodies in this range should be better protected since the number of migratory birds is increasing.
- The census was conducted in several lakes, including Vengal, Kavanur, Alli, and Pennanur Pettai. At each water body, eight members, including two forest foot soldiers, conducted the census.
- Among the species spotted were the Northern pintail, white-rumped shama, Indian pitta, and Asian brown flycatcher. The census showed migratory duck called the cotton pygmy goose was spotted in one of the lakes.
Who said what? One of the survey’s participants, KVRK Thirunarannan, said last year’s census recorded only a few resident birds. Range Officer A Clement Edison said despite the water bodies not being declared sanctuaries or protected, they still host a large number of bird species.
🤝🏽 Electronics Industry summit
Chennai will play host to a national summit for the electronics industry with major stakeholders.
What’s it about? Chennai will host the 12th Source India Summit on February 13 and 14. The summit will be organised by the state government in partnership with the Electronics Industries Association of India (ELCINA). They represent the electronics and IT manufacturers.
- The summit will be a B2B platform for the electronics industry. It will address the sector’s challenges and empower electronic system design and manufacturing companies.
- More than 90% of the components used in Indian consumer electronics are from China. The conference will look at ways to make India a sourcing hub for components.
Who said what? Sanjay Agarwal, President of ELCINA, said the state has already taken several steps in accelerating the growth of the electronics manufacturing sector to increase its electronics industry output to $100 billion by 2025. S Krishnan, from the government, said Tamil Nadu is an excellent investment destination for manufacturing facilities.
🚌 Public transport audit fellowship
Applications are open for a fellowship to assess the safety of the city’s public transport.
What’s it about? “Citizens for Safe Mobility” is the name of the fellowship and is an initiative of the Gender and Policy Lab of the Chennai Corporation and Delhi-based Safetipin and its Chennai partner Prajnya. Those who complete it will receive a certificate and ₹3,000 to cover incidental expenses.
- The fellowship is open to anyone above 18 years who can read and write English with a basic ability to speak Tamil. It has three components – training, audit, and presentation.
- Those selected will be trained to conduct app-based audits to see how safe, accessible, and gender-inclusive is the city’s public transport network.
🚰 Cadmium level warning
In one city area, the level of cadmium in the groundwater was 15 times more than the WHO limit.
What’s it about? Groundwater samples collected from 45 locations in the city before and after the monsoon showed cadmium and nickel levels were 15 and 7 times higher than the WHO standards in Nagalkeni of Pammal. The data was revealed in the Groundwater for Sustainable Development journal.
- Among large cities, some 2018 studies showed Chennai is the most vulnerable to heavy metal concentration in groundwater. It was part of a broader study on household expenditure on water.
- It examined the accessibility, availability, and affordability of drinking water to households where the groundwater was contaminated. Pammal is the most vulnerable to heavy metal contamination.
Analysis: Poor quality groundwater increases household expenditure on water. Apart from bottled water, people spend on water purifiers. The data and analysis will help design better land-use regulations to promote the sustainable use of groundwater.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you prefer Indian or International brands when you’re shopping?
- I prefer Indian brands when I’m shopping.
- I prefer International brands when I’m shopping.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your usual wake-up time, and why?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- A new app will allow Anna University students access to e-books and e-journals.
- Shortage of money has hampered efforts to increase the city’s water storage capacity.
- Metro rail barricades in front of work sites at busy locations will be removed, in a relief to motorists.
- The Chennai Corporation won’t remove but improve the maintenance of e-toilets.
- CREDAI Chennai hopes to achieve ₹300 crores worth of sales at the upcoming FAIRPRO 2023 real estate exhibition.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer to buy and own books I want to read: 66.7% 🏆
- I prefer to borrow books from a library: 33.3%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your favourite Indian street food?
Giri: “Vada pav”
Chitra: “Pani poori”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!