Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Cloudy and rainy weather ahead.
🧐 Did you know? India’s first labour union was formed in Chennai in 1931. Founders Selvapathy Chettiyar and G Ramanjalu Naidu decided to form a union to help workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Perambur.
🌀 Cyclone approaching?
A weather system in the Andaman Sea has meteorologists wondering if it’ll bring rain to Chennai.
What’s it about? A new weather system over the Andaman Sea is expected to turn into a cyclone in the coming days. Weathermen are debating whether this will bring more rain to the city.
- The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain for Chennai in the next few days. It has also issued a heavy rain alert for 11 districts, including Kancheepuram and Chengelpet till December 1.
- For the next two days, Chennai and the suburbs are expected to receive light to moderate rain. While the weather system continues to develop and eventually make landfall, irrespective of its location, north Tamil Nadu is expected to get heavy rainfall.
System’s movements: The weather system is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression over the Bay of Bengal. It’s expected to become a cyclonic storm, which could be named Michaung, proposed by Myanmar.
🌃 Learning from the Smart Cities Mission
The Chennai Corporation is incorporating learnings from the Smart Cities Mission into its regular projects.
What’s it about? Corporation Commissioner J Radhakrishnan said the Smart Cities Mission generated a lot of enthusiasm. The civic body has taken lessons learned from that and used them in its regular projects.
- Among the examples is the ‘health walk track’, part of the government’s initiative to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. The track also has space for parking and other civic amenities.
- The Chennai Corporation is now looking to link concepts of the Smart Cities Mission to set up smart clinics and smart toilets.
What has Chennai done? One project example under Chennai’s Smart Cities Mission is the pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar. Footfall has increased since the area was decongested and transformed into a thriving business district.
🚉 Upgrading railway stations
The Ambattur and Tiruvallur stations will sport a new look by March 2024.
What’s it about? Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, the Ambattur and Turivallur stations will get new buildings and other facilities. The development work will be done by the Southern Railway.
- The stations are located on the Chennai-Tiruvallur suburban route and will have new platforms, a 12-metre wide foot overbridge, CCTV cameras, and improved passenger information displays.
- The Tiruvallur station will also have a new passenger concourse, a parking lot, escalators, and three lifts.
Amrit Bharat Scheme: Under the scheme, work is underway to redevelop 15 stations, including the Egmore station.
🚌 Seeking residents’ inputs
CUMTA met with resident welfare associations for their input on the comprehensive mobility plan.
What’s it about? The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) met with 28 resident welfare association representatives from Velachery, Besant Nagar, Tambaram, and others, to get their inputs on the comprehensive mobility plan.
- CUMTA and residents will work together for the household survey, of which 6,000 have already been completed. The remaining 44,000 are expected to be completed by mid-January.
- At the meeting, residents voiced their grievances about the lack of feeder and last-mile services from and between different stations and bus stops.
Other complaints: Others at the meeting also complained about persistent encroachments on footpaths, rendering them useless for pedestrians and those who frequently use public transport.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have roads in your neighbourhood been affected by the recent rains?
- The roads in my neighbourhood have been affected by the recent rains.
- The roads in my neighbourhood haven’t been affected by the recent rains.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Which is your favourite cafe in Chennai?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- An Inclusive Sanitation Workshop was held in the city to help provide better sewage and sanitation services.
- 36 driverless trains will be operated by the Chennai Metro on the Lighthouse-Poonamallee corridor.
- The Perungalathur to Puzhal bypass stretching 32 km will be relaid by the NHAI.
- A new Vande Bharat Express service will be introduced between Chennai Central and Coimbatore.
- The Real Van Gogh Experience will come to Chennai with a themed art cafe and infinity room.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have gone boating: 90.9% 🏆
- I haven’t gone boating: 9.1%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What children’s books did you read as a kid?
Shiva: “Siruvar Malar, does that count?”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!