Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny for today.
🧐 Did you know? Aavin had its genesis in the city when the Madras Milk Supply Union was founded as a co-operative in 1927. Several milk cooperatives came together in 1981 under the Tamil Nadu Co-Operative Milk Producers Federation with the brand name Aavin.
📄 Disaster preparation
The Chennai Corporation has released a disaster management plan that identified vulnerable areas and provided mitigation measures.
What’s it about? The Corporation’s disaster management perspective plan has measures to respond to disasters, including floods, cyclones, and tsunamis. It takes into account Chennai’s vulnerabilities to disasters.
- The plan has been prepared on the principles of the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and State Disaster Management Plan (SDMP). It includes information like land use patterns, which showed 56.7% taken up by buildings and 17.1% by trees.
- For cyclones, the plan includes measures like retrofitting roofs of existing critical infrastructure. It also identified the influence of high and low tides, the flow of excess water into minor water bodies through tanks upstream.
Flood mitigation: The plan identifies the city as flood-prone and lists some of its causes like clogging of drains and a lack of connectivity of stormwater drains with macro drainage. The Corporation has already mapped flood-prone areas over the years. In 2021, there were 18, and last year had only one.
🚇 Tunneling at a snail’s pace
The tunnel boring machines (TBMs) used for the metro’s second phase move slowly.
What’s it about? The TBMs used for the second phase of the metro are moving slowly since the underground shafts to retrieve the machines after tunnelling is complete aren’t ready. Despite this, the pace of work isn’t expected to be affected and ensures the tunnels are built without affecting buildings.
- There are three machines currently working on the Madhavaram-Sipcot stretch. Another three are at the Greenways Road metro towards Adyar junction and Mandaveli. They all move 7-10 metres a day.
- The contract for the station and tunnelling is usually awarded to one company. While this was done for corridors 4 and 5, it wasn’t for corridor 3. In some locations, the retrieval shaft isn’t ready since the contract was awarded after tunnelling began.
Will there be delays? Despite the slow-moving TBMs, the pace of work on phase 2 won’t be affected. The 116.1 km network is expected to open in phases from 2025-28.
🦁 Safari success
The lion and deer safaris at the Vandalur Zoo are a hit with visitors.
What’s it about? The new lion and deer safaris introduced at the zoo last week have proven to be a success among visitors. The demand for them has been high over the past week and is expected to increase.
- Last week, over 2,600 people took the safaris in air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned vehicles. The weekend saw the highest demand.
- On the inaugural day of October 2, 18 trips were made, with 500 people taking in the safaris. Saturday saw 25 trips, and Sunday saw 32, with 650 and 850 people, respectively.
Increasing demand: The zoo has already called for tenders for two more air-conditioned vehicles, which are expected to join the existing fleet by next month. Each one has a capacity of 28 people.
🎨 Advocating for conservation through art
Artist Deepa Esweran’s new exhibition showcases the tranquillity of nature and advocating for its conservation.
What’s it about? She’s followed in the footsteps of her renowned father, SB Esweran, and carved a place among India’s esteemed painters. Her new display at DakshinaChitra captures several themes, landscapes, and sceneries.
- She draws inspiration from nature’s diversity and its different seasons. She’s also an advocate for nature conservation, commenting on maintaining our environments and surroundings.
- The colours she has mastered over the years range from green and earthy colours to deep tones of umber. Like her father, she’s adept at the interplay of light and shade.
Raising awareness: She’s prolific, with over 95 exhibitions across the country and uses her art to raise awareness about conservation.
Details: Her artworks are on display at DakshinaChitra till October 23.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Did you attend private coaching while in school?
- I attended private coaching while in school.
- I didn’t attend private coaching while in school.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What area of the city do you think needs a metro?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Madras University plans to offer online degree programmes in BCom, MCom, and BBA.
- Vegetable prices drop in the city and are expected to stabilise next week.
- Government schools in the city hold medical camps for disabled students.
- The Chennai Corporation will spend ₹86.4 crore to restore 21 micro canals across the city.
- Consumers are unhappy and have complained over the poor quality of Aavin milk being supplied.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have watched a cricket match in the Chepauk stadium: 16.7%
- I haven’t watched a cricket match in the Chepauk stadium: 83.3% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great day!