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Chennai Kalpandhu League
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Good morning, Chennai!

🌦️ Today’s weather: Some rain, but it’s going to be mostly cloudy and sunny.

🧐 Did you know? The Royapuram railway station was the first station in South India. It began operations in 1856. This year marked its 166th anniversary. It currently has a footfall of about 10,000 a month.


⚽ Chennai Kalpandhu League for boys and girls

The year’s edition will have participants only from government schools.

What’s it about: For class 7 student Kaviya, her dream of playing football comes true with the second edition of the Chennai Kaalpandhu League (CKL), a CSR initiative by LatentView Analytics. More than 180 kids will participate from 30 government schools. The league is returning after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

  • Training began on September 16 at their respective schools. The students are given a complete kit with food and transportation included.
  • The coaches are experienced and pay individual attention. For kids and parents, it’s a way to encourage sports apart from academics.

All round development: LatentView believes sports are important for the holistic development of a child. For them, the CKL is a small step. For the kids, it’s an opportunity to learn and help them grow. It instils in them a sense of pride and happiness. Some may even want to pursue a career in football or sports in general.


💡 Is Koyambedu going 100% solar?

(Image credits: Sudhamshu Hebbar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The state government is studying the possibility of converting the market into a carbon-neutral facility.

What’s it about: The State Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, and IIT Madras are exploring the possibility of making the marketplace carbon-neutral. The department met with the CMDA and the Chennai Corporation. 

  • One possibility is to power the market with only solar energy.
  • Another proposal is to use vegetable and fruit waste to generate power. The market generates 200 tonnes of waste. The plan is to have a bio-methanation plant to produce biogas and generate electricity.
  • IIT-Madras will also study how to reduce water usage. The proposal could be to construct a water treatment plant to recycle sewage generated at the complex.

Some facts: The complex has more than 3,900 shops selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, and perishable items. It sees thousands of visitors every day. The complex already has two vending machines that sell cloth bags to help make it a plastic-free space.


🚰 Reservoirs have enough water for Chennai

At the reservoirs that supply water to the city, there’s enough water for 7 months.

Enough water: Water levels at the two major reservoirs at Red Hills and Chembarambakkam are 81.1% and 78.4%, respectively. An official said that’d be enough for piped water supply to Chennai for the next seven months. Also, once the northeast monsoon arrives, rainwater will drain into the Poondi reservoir.

  • As of Wednesday, Poondi reservoir had 669 million cubic feet (mcft) of water. Cholavaram had 164, and Red Hills with 2,678. In total, all the reservoirs have about 8,000 mcft of water.
  • Last year, discharge from the Poondi reservoir was 12 tmc. It drained into the sea since there were no storage facilities downstream.

More on Poondi: The reservoir won’t receive water from the Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh until after the northeast monsoon. Officials in the neighbouring state were asked not to release water since they had to build two sluice gates at Poondi through which the hydrology department used to draw water. The old gates were destroyed seven years ago.


🌱 Saplings along the Cooum stretch

Contracts for the saplings have been finalised as encroachments are being cleared along the stretch.

What’s it about: Along the river banks of the Cooum, officials are clearing encroachments, levelling the banks, and removing solid waste. The Corporation is undertaking the work along the 11.3 km stretch under the Chennai Rivers Rehabilitation Trust Fund for ₹7.13 crores.

  • Close to 65,000 traditional saplings and other plants will be planted from the Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar bridge to the MRTS bridge stretch. They’ll also be planted along the 3.9 km stretch on the left side from Menambakkam bridge to Nandambakkam bridge.
  • At the 4 areas where the banks were levelled in Royapuram, Ambattur, and Valasaravakkam, traditional saplings like Banyan and Asara trees, along with 43 other species, will be planted.

Other locations: Other stretches where saplings will be planted are from Napier bridge to Quaid-e-Millath bridge and the stretch from Thai Moogambigai Dental College and Hospital campus to Padi Kuppam.


✨ Things to do…

Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!

  • For the first time in Chennai, the Suta Bazaar will take place at Humming Room. Here are the details.
  • Comics Aaquib and Selva present Double Negative, a standup comedy show at Backyard: Chennai this Sunday.
  • Forgotten Foods, a unique culinary experience, is happening at the Akshayakalpa Agriculture Research and Development Facility.
  • The Kala Utsavam continues showcasing the best handicrafts & handlooms. Here are the details.
  • Poems & Stories at House of T will have artists telling, of course, poems and stories!

🛋️ Local Lounge

Yesterday’s Poll Results:

  • I would take the chance to travel to outer space: 75% 🏆
  • I wouldn’t like to travel to outer space: 25%

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!

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