Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 31 ℃ | Low: 22 ℃ | Clear skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The Vijayanagara Kings rebuilt the Kapaleeswarar temple in the 16th century after the Portuguese destroyed it in the mid-16th century.
🤝 Fostering cultural connections
IIT Madras will organise the third edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam from February 15 to 24.
What’s it about? The Kashi Tamil Sangamam is an event from the Ministry of Education to facilitate people-to-people connections across different walks of life. The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) will be the receiving Institute in Varanasi for this event.
- Participants from Tamil Nadu will visit the ancestral home of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, Kedar Ghat, Kasi Mandapam and BHU’s Tamil Department. 1,000 people from the state split into five groups will participate.
- The event coincides with the Maha Kumbh Mela. Delegates will have a chance to take a holy dip and have a darshan at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Other features: This year’s theme is to highlight the contributions of Sage Agasthyar to the Siddha System of Medicine and classical Tamil literature to the cultural unity of India.
👨🦯 Training people with visual impairments
The Karna Vidya Foundation has provided custom skill-based training for people with visual impairments.
What’s it about? The city-based NGO has worked with the state government for 25 years to impact skill and technology-based training for people with visual impairments. Since its inception in 1999, over 2,000 people have been trained in various skills.
- The organisation has provided skill-based training in different capacities using technology since 2013. The funding for the training programmes comes through corporate social responsibility activities by companies and the government.
- In Chennai, over 80 people are trained by over 20 trainers every year. With the growth of the IT sector, the Karna Vidya Foundation (KVF) has helped by setting up a centre in Guindy and other locations in the state.
Focus areas: The programme helps people with visual impairments complete their college education and adults find better jobs. KVF also set up audio lessons and opened a library in Mandaveli in 2003. To date, 100 candidates have been employed in different e-commerce and IT companies.
🐢 Record number of dead turtles
Over 350 dead turtles have washed ashore in Chennai in the past two weeks, alarming wildlife officials and experts.
What happened? Following the discovery of dead Olive Ridley turtles last week, over 350 dead turtles have washed ashore between the Marina and Kovalam Beach over 2 weeks. The forest department or the Coast Guard have no answer on the cause of death.
- As of January 13, The Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTN) recorded 161 deaths. From Neelankarai to Kovalam, the Tree Foundation reported nearly 200 deaths.
- State Wildlife Board member Shravan Krishnan believes only 20% of the dead turtles wash ashore, so the actual number of deaths is expected to be higher. Many of the turtles have swollen necks and bulging eyes.
What’s the cause? There could be a correlation between the sudden spike in deaths and the bumper catch of squid and cuttlefish. The turtles could’ve been caught in the nets, usually laid 3 nautical miles from shore. Some experts say the ban on trawling within 8 km during turtle breeding season has been poorly enforced.
🛫 Fast-track immigration
The Chennai airport could see shorter wait times for immigration with the new Fast Track Immigration facility.
What’s it about? The new Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) begins at the airport to make the travel experience smoother for passengers. The FTI-TTP was launched last June but wasn’t inaugurated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Chennai.
- After passengers register at www.ftittp.mha.gov.in, their details will be verified by the Bureau of Immigration. Passengers will then get an email or SMS for biometric enrolment. Once the process is complete and boarding passes are issued, passengers can go to the dedicated FTI-TTP counter.
- The initiative was launched in June 2024 at Terminal 3 of the New Delhi airport. Amit Shah inaugurated the programme at seven other airports, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru.
No more long queues? At the Chennai airport, there have been repeated instances of international passengers waiting in long immigration lines, sometimes more than 2 hours. The FTI-TTP is expected to reduce that.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Music fans, get excited for the Vijay Antony Live In Concert this Saturday.
- Aspiring filmmakers, learn how AI and moviemaking come together at the Movie Creation using AI workshop this weekend.
- Explore Tamil culture with the immersive dance production Sem Mann this Sunday.
- Motorcycle junkies and foodies, the open road and good food await at the Bikes and Brunch event this Sunday.
- Fun and games await at the Family Fun Day this weekend.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I did burn personal belongings during Bhogi: 42.1%
- I didn’t burn personal belongings during Bhogi: 57.9% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What items do you usually recycle often?
Suchi: “Clothes”
Shiva: “Paper, but I re-use most things like shopper bags, bottles and ‘thambula pai'”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!