Good morning, Chennai!
🪔 On account of the Diwali festival, we are taking an extended break this weekend. We will be back with the next edition on Wednesday. Happy Diwali!
☁️ Today’s weather: Another cloudy day with some rain.
🧐 Did you know? The locality of Koyambedu was originally said to have been a forest called Veeksharanyam. It’s where Valmiki had his ashram. According to inscriptions, it was a Chola settlement.
🦟 Mosquito breeding sites
The Chennai Corporation has identified over 1,000 mosquito breeding sites.
What’s it about? The Corporation has identified 1,500 mosquito breeding locations, including 198 in commercial buildings and 89 in construction sites since August. North Chennai was the biggest culprit since people stored water in drums due to inadequate water supply in several areas.
- The Tiruvottiyur zone had the highest spots at 494, followed by the Manali zone with 282. With the recent spells of rain, mosquito breeding has spiked across the city.
- Many locations also had several uncovered tanks. The Corporation plans to introduce drones to spray larvicide in waterways and canals.
Dengue cases: Chennai recorded nearly 500 dengue cases this year. 45% of the cases were recorded in September, and 130 cases were recorded last month.
🧨 The city’s crackers business
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Despite a bounceback in the market post-pandemic, fireworks sellers now have to contend with new rules and protocols.
What’s it about? Most of the sellers in the city come from Sivakasi, where most fireworks are manufactured. Many move to Chennai for two reasons – a bigger, more profitable market and feedback from customers. However, new rules and protocols have meant sellers have to deal with that, plus pricing difficulties.
- While some sellers register a profit, they aren’t able to clear their stock. The profit margins are dropping since more people are aware of prices as brands list them on their websites.
- Getting licenses has also been difficult. Due to online registrations, most shopkeepers found it tough to apply. They were issued only a week in advance of Diwali. The delays were due to an increase in the number of accidents and rules on where a shop can be located.
Changing conditions: Due to environmental concerns, there’s less emission of smoke in most crackers sold. Some haven’t observed a significant decline in the production and sales of firecrackers in the city over the past decade.
🛫 Limited aerobridges
International flights from the airport have been affected due to a limited number of aerobridges.
What’s it about? Due to the limited number of aerobridges, many flights are being handled at remote parking bays away from the terminals. This has increased boarding times for airlines. While the original plan was to dock two flights simultaneously when the new terminal opened, that’s not the case anymore.
- The new terminal has four aerobridges for wide-body aircraft to destinations like Europe and the UK, but not for shorter destinations like the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
- Each aerobridge can handle two aircraft of the Airbus A320, A321 or Boeing’s B737, or one B777. While this was enough to handle flights at night, it has been discontinued.
What’s the norm? It’s mandatory for an aircraft with a capacity of 180 passengers to have an aerobridge. It’s not only convenient and faster, but it’s also safer.
🍪 Catering to Chennai’s sweet tooth
Sree Gupta Bhavan (SGB) has stood out among a handful of North Indian sweet shops to cater to the city’s tastes.
What’s it about? With Diwali almost here, it’s a good time for sweet shops across the city. With only a handful of traditional North Indian ones in the city, Sree Gupta Bhavan has become a staple for many craving sweets, savouries, and chaat.
- There are currently 25 outlets across Chennai with over 100 varieties of sweets. While they have classics, including Bengali delicacies like rasagulla, they recently introduced several varieties of the traditional Turkish delight, Baklava.
- As peoples’ tastes and preferences have evolved, so has the business. SGB keeps that in front of mind as they’ve observed that people go for traditional sweets during festivals and otherwise want something new.
A long journey: It all began in 1985 when Ramesh Agarwaal came to Chennai from Mathura to set up his sundal cart that served jalebis and samosas at St Thomas Mount. With his grandmother’s recipes in hand, the first outlet opened in 1987 at Tambaram. They expanded with chaat in 1994 and a restaurant in 2007.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- The Late Night Comedy Show is a night of fun and laughter this Saturday.
- Spotlight – Edition 7 presents a monthly showcase for up-and-coming directors this Saturday.
- Madras Comedy Show presents some of the city’s favourite comedians this Sunday.
- Trace the organic food journey with your family at the Akshayakalpa Farm this weekend.
- Ara-Gora Comedy presents Open Mic nights this weekend.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I plan on bursting crackers this Diwali: 22.2%
- I don’t plan on bursting crackers this Diwali: 77.8% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your usual Diwali day routine?
Suchi: “Pooja, family get together.”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!