Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Sunny weather with a little cloud cover.
🧐 Did you know? The Tamil Nadu State Assembly building in Chennai was the world’s first green legislative building. It received a Gold rating from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
🚶 New foot over bridges
Two new foot-over bridges will be built on arterial roads at Anna Nagar and Anna Salai.
What’s it about? The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) will build two foot-over bridges. One will be at Anna Nagar and the other at Anna Salai to help pedestrians cross roads and reduce fatalities. To ensure accessibility, they’ll also have lifts and escalators.
- The first will be at the Anna Salai – Dams Road – GP Road Junction. The other will be at 100 feet road near the Anna Nagar Kendriya Vidyalaya. ₹15 crore has been allocated for each project.
- For pedestrians, it’s a relief. At the Anna Salai-GP Road Junction, people find it hard to cross the road since there aren’t proper traffic signals and traffic rules aren’t properly enforced.
Who said what? Ajit Kumar of the Madras Motor Parts Dealers Association, who owns a shop on GP Road, said this was an urgent requirement. Due to constant traffic, people opt to cross through the LIC Metro station. Urban development professional Santosh Loganaathan said pedestrian crossings should be properly designed and maintained to cater to people of all ages and those with disabilities.
🚢 Chennai-Vladivostok corridor
India is in talks with Russia to inaugurate the Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor.
What’s it about? Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said India and Russia are discussing the inauguration of the Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor. He said the maritime corridor would improve maritime trade between both countries.
- The route will help reduce the cargo movement time between Chennai and Vladivostok to less than 20 days compared to 40.
Chennai as a hub: The minister was in Chennai to inaugurate four projects worth ₹156 crore at the Chennai and Kamarajar ports to increase their cargo-handling capacities. He said the government plans to make Chennai a hub for cruise tourism on the east coast. Last year, for the first time in the port’s history, a continuous cruise service operated from June to September.
🔢 Supply chain winner
Chennai-based Pando is going places with several Fortune 10 and Fortune 500 companies as clients.
What’s it about? Pando is a supply chain software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup that looks to connect various supply chain stakeholders like manufacturers, warehouses, and distributors. The company began by wanting to sell to enterprises, a departure from similar companies that start with small and medium businesses.
- The company’s first customer success was built on three tenets – artificial intelligence capabilities, no code approach, and networks. Since each customer had unique needs, they had to build a flexible platform where data could be used for all purposes.
- The company targets large companies and integrates with their existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. Pando also has co-marketing and co-delivery arrangements with companies like TCS and Accenture.
Journey and the future: The idea for Pando came from its co-founders, Nitin Jayakrishnan and Abhijeet Manohar, while working on another venture in 2016 called iDelivery. As its clients began asking for features to be integrated into existing supply chain systems, Pando was born in 2018.
- With plans to hire 150 more people by the end of 2023, the company will become operationally profitable in the next eight months.
🦩 Migratory season draws to a close
As the migratory season ends, there are some last-minute sightings in two locations near Chennai.
What’s it about? With the migratory season ending, the Kelambakkam-Covelong backwater system in the south and Pulicat Lake in the north are home to some last-minute sightings. This season, the greater flamingos were absent at the Perumbakkam wetland. The Kelambakkam-Covelong backwaters have sufficient freshwater thanks to the Muttukadu Lake and Buckingham Canal.
- On April 21, during low tide at the Kelambakkam-Covelong backwater system, several flamingos made the most of the shrimp-rich waters. The Rann of Kutch remains their preferred breeding spot.
- On April 23, during low tide, a gaggle of whimbrels perched on a mudflat. On April 16, birders saw dozens of curlew sandpipers. Several bird species sport brown and black on their heads and faces, a sign they’re ready to populate the seas.
Who said what? Ornithologist V Santharam said there were claims that greater flamingos breed around Chennai. He said the birds heap up mud around brackish water systems as nests. They usually require a vast area to engage socially with each other.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you know how to swim?
- Yes, I know how to swim.
- No, I don’t know how to swim.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What was your favourite thing to do as a kid during summer vacations?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Biodegradable waste handling will improve this year, with 2,500 tonnes expected to be processed.
- A tertiary pond will be created by the Corporation at the Villivakkam tank.
- Tracing the history of the once-vibrant calendar art of Sivakasi.
- VGP Marine Kingdom will see magician Vignesh Prabhu in the first underwater magic show.
- Bringing Tejas Express to Tambaram after years of effort has been a boon for residents.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have played golf: 14.3%
- I haven’t played golf: 85.7% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your favourite smell?
Kalaiarasi: “Smell of vanilla”
Chitra: “Smell of rain”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!