Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 37 ℃ | Low: 24 ℃ | Cloudy with a chance of rain.
🧐 Did you know? The Poondi reservoir, inaugurated in 2020 is the city’s only reservoir built since independence.
⚖️ Corruption in the civic body?
The Madras High Court criticised the Chennai Corporation and its personnel for alleged corruption.
What’s it about? The Madras High Court summoned the Commissioner and criticised the Corporation, ward councillors, and other officials for allegedly taking bribes from builders and others who illegally encroached on lands. The Court directed the civic body to disclose the wealth and assets of officials.
- A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleged that a public road was encroached on by private individuals with the knowledge of officials. The court questioned why councillors and the police were present there.
- The court summoned the Commissioner to ask what the Corporation was doing to prevent unauthorised constructions and encroachments.
Response: The advocate stated that the Corporation was taking steps to halt unauthorised buildings and encroachments, but the court wasn’t satisfied.
🏏 Dhoni’s decision on CSK
As the BCCI finalises the player retention numbers, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are prepared for all scenarios on Dhoni.
What’s it about? CSK are awaiting confirmation of MS Dhoni’s availability for the next edition of the IPL. According to reports, he hasn’t committed one way or another about playing in IPL 2025. CSK believe a clearer picture will emerge once the BCCI decides on the number of player retentions.
- If Dhoni decides to play, he’ll be one of the five players CSK would retain. There’s also a possibility that he would settle for the lowest pay category.
- Dhoni handed the CSK captaincy over to Ruturaj Gaikwad before this year’s IPL. The franchise is prepared for all eventualities, including buying a wicketkeeper in the upcoming auction.
Recent record: Dhoni, now 43, played the previous IPL season with a niggle in his leg. He mostly batted in the final overs and scored just 161 runs in the 11 innings he played.
🏗️ Marina Mall residences
Developer DRA Homes will take over the residential development of the Marina Mall.
What’s it about? DRA Homes will officially take over the residential development segment at the Marina Mall in Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). The takeover will be funded by the fintech platform YuBi.
- The Marina Mall project is unique since it integrates an upscale mall, a luxurious hotel, and a sea-facing residential tower. It offers residents a distinctive lifestyle experience.
- The residential project aims to redefine urban living. DRA hopes this will help transform the city’s residential landscape.
Opening doors: With this transaction, High Net Worth individuals (HNIs) can subscribe to Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) through YuBi’s platform. It will increase retail participation in the city’s development scene.
🖥️ IIT Madras’ certificate courses
The institute’s School Connect programme aims to help school students make informed higher education choices.
What’s it about? The IIT-M School Connect programme hopes to help school students make better and more informed decisions about higher education and their professional lives. It has two certificate courses – Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Electronic Systems.
- The online courses have been designed by IIT Madras professors with tailored content for class 11 and 12 students to help them get more hands-on career experience.
- The course’s duration is 8 weeks and has already attracted interest. Over 500 schools have partnered with IIT Madras, and 11,000 students have enrolled in the first batch.
Outreach: IIT Madras sees a social responsibility to help students explore varied career opportunities while they’re still in school. The institute plans to offer more courses in the coming months.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Singer-songwriters gather to tell stories at Strings and Stories, this Saturday.
- Experience village life at the Chennaiyil Oru Gramathu Thiruvizha fair this weekend.
- Pink Floyd and Deep Purple are honoured with a tribute from Blue Birds this Saturday.
- Dog lovers can volunteer at the Blue Cross’ Paw Project this Sunday.
- TEDxNapier Bridge Salon presents a session on photography as an art form this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I have made a purchase on EMI: 28.6%
- I haven’t made a purchase on EMI: 71.4% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
How often do you travel every year?
Suchi: “At least once”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!