Good morning, Chennai!
☁️ Today’s weather: High: 35 ℃ | Low: 26 ℃ | Mostly cloudy for the day.
🧐 Did you know? OMR gained prevalence as a route post connecting the Kotturpuram bridge to Mahabalipuram in 1987. The word “Old” was added once the new East Coast Road parallel to it was completed in 1998.
👕 Honouring conservancy workers
NIFT and the city’s conservancy workers showcased creations to raise awareness about waste management.
What’s it about? Students and faculty of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) designed garments using fabrics and a colour palette similar to the uniforms worn by conservancy workers. The garments were made from recycled plastic, dry wood, and other waste materials.
- The show was a way to honour the workers who regularly endure harsh conditions to keep the city clean. It was also a way to raise awareness about sustainable practices and recycling.
- During the rainy and festive seasons, the city sees a spike in cloth waste since people buy more clothes, and it accumulates near water bodies.
Workers’ effort: The show was a way to tell people that the conservancy workers toil to keep the city clean. The private agency Urbaser Sumeet employs 11,000 people across the city’s 15 zones to cover 206 sq km and serve 40 lakh residents.
📖 To sit in silence and read
Chennai is now home to popular silent reading clubs scattered throughout providing a haven for bookworms.
What’s it about? For residents in Tambaram and Chromepet, getting to Besant Nagar for the Bessy Reads sessions was difficult. That’s why Arvind Balasubramaniam decided to start Lake Reads Chitlapakkam in April. Other similar clubs have the same origin story.
- The city now has Bessy Reads, Chennai Reads, Lake Reads Chitlapakkam, and Mylapore Reads. Members meet at a park or a peaceful space every weekend to just read silently.
- Those who come in range from working young professionals to parents to retired seniors. Most of the people are in the 21-35 age range, and they bring their own books. There’s a 15-20 minute discussion at the session’s end about the books and authors.
More in the offering: More silent reading clubs are expected to come up in the future. IT professionals in Siruseri, for example, have been demanding their own club.
🚇 Metro’s ECR expansion
The Metro’s 2nd phase at OMR will have provisions for any future expansion into ECR.
What’s it about? The second phase of the Chennai Metro taking shape at Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) will have provisions for future expansions into East Coast Road (ECR). Pillars and viaducts are being built along 200 metres on Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai, which links OMR and ECR.
- The short extension line on the road linking OMR and ECR will help trains switch corridors since Sholinganallur will be the interchange point linking corridors 3 and 5.
- If there’s a plan to extend the metro 1-2 km toward ECR, officials can extend the line that’s already being built on Karunanidhi Salai.
Other extension plans: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is also adding structural provisions to the Koyambedu phase 2 station for additional platforms for the extension to Avadi.
🌊 Flood preparations
To prevent flooding, the stormwater drains and desilting work will be inspected every 15 days.
What’s it about? During an inspection of the Adyar River in Manapakkam, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said the city’s stormwater drains and the desilting work will be inspected every 15 to 20 days to prevent flooding. The remaining desilting work is expected to be complete by August 15.
- During the southwest monsoon, Chennai received 28 cm of rainfall, resulting in water-logging across several areas. Meena said the Chennai Corporation and the Water Resources Department have been asked to complete the work at the earliest.
- An additional 1,000 workers have been brought in to desilt and clear silt catch pits. About 40 km of drain work remains in the city’s core areas.
Getting ready: At least 19,000 disaster management centres will be set up in the city with essential items ahead of the northeast monsoon. Officials with motor pumps and pumping machines will be on standby.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Have you watched any non-IPL Indian sports leagues?
- I have watched non-IPL Indian sports leagues.
- I haven’t watched non-IPL Indian sports leagues.
❓ Today’s Question
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What’s a good habit you wish to cultivate?
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🗞️ In other news…
- The Kuthambakkam bus terminus is expected to be open to the public by March 2025.
- IIT Madras unveiled plans to use technology-driven tools to make India a global chess powerhouse.
- The weather forecast for this month expects the city to get record rainfall.
- Despite repeated complaints, the Tambaram Corporation has yet to conduct its dog census.
- IIT Madras researchers will assist IIT Hyderabad specialists in assessing buildings in Amaravati for reconstruction.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!