Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Clear and sunny weather for today.
🧐 Did you know? The Oriental Building on Armenian Street, inaugurated in 1936, had a sunken basement for a safe deposit vault. This was the first of its kind in Madras and the biggest in South India. It was occupied by the Kothari-promoted Madras Safe Deposit Co Ltd. The doors that led to the vault weighed six tonnes each, made by Godrej.
🌉 Pallavaram flyover-Tambaram bypass link
An elevated corridor will connect the Pallavaram flyover with the Tambaram-Maduravoyal Bypass.
What’s it about? The elevated corridor will be built to decongest traffic along the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road. There are currently only two lanes with little space for vehicles to overtake. The project is one among two major infrastructure projects for South Chennai.
- Building pillars in the middle of the road as it is now will be impossible without acquiring private land. This could lead to delays since the stretch has residences, shops, and small industries.
- The highways department wants to build foot over bridges and bus shelters and widen the roads with proper service lanes. Landscaping and agriculture works are also in the offering.
Who said what? Tambaram resident activist Godwin Shadrach said it could take at least five years for the project to be complete, and the area will be a mess till then. B Vijayalakshmi from the Federation of Raidal Road Residents’ Association said while the area has seen many top companies set up shop, there are issues of illegal parking and encroachments.
🚧 Keeping track of road work
The Corporation now publishes information on the relaying of roads to keep the public informed.
What’s it about? To bring in transparency and citizen participation, the Corporation has decided to publish details of roads being relaid, including the types of relaying work and the names of the contractor and project consultant. Last year, several newly laid roads were relaid since they weren’t milled.
- This weekend, the Corporation released information on 58 roads being relaid. The Corporation also published information about its own engineers so residents can reach out.
- Civic activists have welcomed this initiative and urged residents to participate. Previously, contractors would put up notice boards with the project details that some residents wanted.
Inspections: Officials have been asked to inspect the roads at night. Chief Minister MK Stalin and Mayor R Priya have conducted midnight inspections recently.
🤝 Metro-CSK partnership
The Chennai Metro and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have teamed up to offer commuters several incentives.
What’s it about? As the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway, the Chennai Metro wanted to make things easier for fans with a slew of incentives like free rides and screening of matches at some Metro stations. It’s a bid to encourage fans to use public transport to get to the Chepauk stadium.
- Fans can use their match tickets for entry on match days. By scanning the QR code on the tickets, they can travel to the Government Estate station, the closest to the stadium, and take the feeder bus to Chepauk.
- All metro train services during match days will be extended by 90 minutes. At the Nandanam, Vadapalani, Wimco Nagar, Thirumangalam, and Central Metro stations, the matches will be live-streamed on large LED screens.
Who said what? CSK CEO KS Viswanathan said partnering with the Metro will ensure fans can travel hassle-free. Chennai Metro CMD MA Siddique appreciated CSK for participating in this initiative to promote public transport.
⚰️ Dignified funeral for the unclaimed
A Chennai NGO ensures those who are unclaimed are given a dignified funeral.
What’s it about? 27-year-old social worker Khaalid Ahamed decided to dedicate his life to ensuring unclaimed bodies in the city are given a proper farewell. A 2015 incident led to the founding of Uravugal Trust in 2017. Uravugal means relationship in Tamil. Its members believe they have a special bond with the people they help.
- The team has 500 volunteers that give people a proper burial regardless of their financial status or background. During the lockdowns, they provided free medical care and ambulance services to homeless patients.
- The Trust has women members who are sometimes denied entry to graveyards. The Trust relies on donations and is often in debt. That hasn’t stopped Khaalid, who continues his work with awareness on suicide prevention.
Who said what? Johnson, a member of the NGO, said the team has buried over 7,500 unclaimed bodies in the past six years. Another volunteer Divya Sri said she has handled over 550 bodies, and volunteering with the Trust has given her a sense of purpose.
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🗞️ In other news…
- Chennai’s Global Pharma recalls 50,000 tubes of contaminated eye drops in the US.
- A new water desalination plant proposed for Chennai will be South Asia’s largest.
- The Tunnel Boring Machine to drill under T Nagar was successfully deployed after it passed an acceptance test.
- Chennai police have begun their inquiry into the sexual harassment case at the Kalakshetra Foundation.
- Traffic diversions have been announced by the traffic police on IPL match days.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!