Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 30 ℃ | Low: 23 ℃ | Clear skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The Tal Chess Club, where Viswanathan Anand learned his trade, was named after the Soviet and Latvian chess player Mikhail Tal.
♟️ Chennai’s Chess connect
Dommaraju Gukesh’s World Championship victory has put the spotlight on Chennai as India’s Chess mecca.
Chennai’s connect: Chennai has become the nursery of chess talent in India much like Mumbai was once for cricket. Chennai’s dominance in producing chess prodigies goes back to when the city was called Madras. It’s now India’s chess capital.
- Out of the 85 Indian grandmasters, 29 have come from Chennai. The most famous is Viswanathan Anand. When he became a grandmaster at 18 in 1988, it sparked a chess revolution that has seen India become a chess powerhouse.
- Since Manuel Aaron became India’s first international master in 1961, Chess took on a bigger role in Chennai. The transformation of the Tal Chess Club at the Russian Cultural Centre in 1972 played a big role.
Contribution of institutions: The Westbridge Anand Chess Academy increased people’s interest in Chess and has produced grandmasters like Gukesh, R Praggnanandha, and his sister, R Vaishali. Velammal Vidyalaya is another one that has ushered in a second chess revolution by helping kids balance academics and Chess.
🙏 Awareness of Siddha medicine
The National Institute of Siddha will hold a Varmam therapy session in Chennai this week.
What’s it about? The National Institute of Siddha will organise a mega Varmam therapy session on December 18 in Chennai for 555 patients. The institute aims to create a Guinness World Record and popularise the drugless Varmam therapy.
- The NIS wants to educate people about Siddha medicine and Varmam therapy’s benefits. Kayakalpam, Varmam, and Thokkanam are the unique methods of Siddha medicine.
- Varmam plays an important role in Siddha medicine. It’s a drugless treatment method for pain management and is widely used to treat muscle, joint, and bone diseases.
Increasing awareness: During the pandemic, NIS Tambaram established five Siddha Covid care centres and carried out 4 successful clinical trials. Last year, Siddha doctors came together to spread awareness through a bike rally from Delhi to Kanyakumari.
🌇 ORR Masterplan
The Outer Ring Road (ORR) Masterplan is expected to be ready by early next year.
What’s it about? The consultancy that won the contract to prepare the Masterplan said it’s likely to be ready by the end of this month or early next year. The Master Plan is for the 126.1 sq km Chennai Outer Ring Road.
- Delhi-based Rudrabhishek Enterprises Private Limited (REPL) has identified four growth nodes – Minjur, Red Hills, Poonamallee and Vandalur. They have ample available land and are eco-sensitive.
- ORR is seen as a high-growth corridor that attracts businesses and industries from inside and around Chennai. Its advantages include better infrastructure and a high floor space index (FSI).
Environmental concerns: The development activities have been restricted in places with waterbodies and eco-sensitive zones. Some of these areas are also prone to waterlogging.
🌊 Water levels
The Water Resources Department (WRD) has increased discharges from lakes.
What’s it about? The total quantum discharge from reservoirs supplying water to Chennai has increased by 2,000 cusecs. The reservoirs have been receiving significant inflows due to recent rain spells.
- The WRD has increased discharge from the Chembarambakkam reservoir from 4,500 to 6,000 cusecs and Puzhal Lake from 500 to 1,000 cusecs.
- The WRD has proposed reducing outflow from the Poondi reservoir from 16,500 to 12,000 cusecs. Officials also said a flood alert was issued by the Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur district administrations.
Storage capacities: The storage in six reservoirs supplying water to Chennai is currently at 10.901 tmcft. That’s 82.5% of their total capacity. Important reservoirs like Poondi, Chembarambakkam, and Puzhal are nearly full.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Have you tried drawing/painting?
- I have tried drawing/painting.
- I haven’t tried drawing/painting.
❓ Today’s Question
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What’s your preferred genre of books to read?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Chennai Literature and Art Festival concludes with thought-provoking discussions from prominent authors and experts.
- The MCC-MRF Innovation Park was inaugurated at the Madras Christian College to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
- The Integral Coach Factory and BEML will design and manufacture high-speed trains.
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set up India’s first diabetes biobank in Chennai.
- Severe waterlogging due to heavy rains has affected land earmarked for the new Chennai airport.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!