Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 41 ℃ | Low: 29 ℃ | Sunny weather for the day.
🧐 Did you know? Independent India’s first international trade fair was held in 1968 in what was then West Madras. That area is now Anna Nagar.
💃 Learn musical theatre
AR Rahman’s foundation will offer a musical theatre training course taught by professionals.
What’s it about? AR Rahman Foundation’s KM Music Conservatory will offer a new one-year musical theatre course. It’s designed and taught by faculty members and Broadway alumnus performer Krystal Kiran.
- The components of the course include acting, singing, dancing like ballet, tap, and jazz, voice lessons, and other performance skills. The course will also bring in guest Broadway teachers.
- The themes will mostly be Western, with the possibility of a fusion with Indian. The course will be open to students of all experience levels.
Ambitions: AR Rahman wants to nurture performers from India on par with those on Broadway. It’s the reason why the course was introduced.
🥵 Temperatures on the upswing
Hot and dry inland winds into the city have resulted in day temperatures breaching the 40-degree mark.
What’s it about? For the first time this year, temperatures during the day in the city touched the 40-degree mark. The Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam observatories recorded 40.6 degree Celsius on Monday.
- Adding to people’s woes is high humidity. Humidity levels in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam were 81% and 52% in the morning.
- Day temperatures have increased due to the arrival of northwesterly winds from Andhra Pradesh. These are strong and prevent the entry of sea breeze.
What’s the forecast? High temperatures and dry weather conditions are expected to continue in the suburbs till June 1. Some rains in the interior parts of the state may cool things down a little.
🌊 Cooum debris poses flood risk
The reckless dumping of debris in the Cooum River could put localities at risk of flooding during the monsoon.
What’s it about? The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) work on the 20.9-km double-decker Port-Maduravoyal corridor has resulted in it dumping debris into the Cooum to create access roads. The river is a major drain for the city’s central areas and is blocked on stretches in Koyambedu and Thirumangalam.
- The expressway spans the river from Koyambedu and other relatively flood-free areas like Anna Nagar, Kilpauk, and Egmore. They’re now at higher risk.
- An official from the Water Resources Department said there’s no alternative since the NHAI needs to bring in a piling rig to dig the river. The National Green Tribunal has taken up the issue.
What’s the nature of the risk? Experts warn that the Cooum’s flow capacity of 40,000 cubic feet per second will reduce, and its average breadth will reduce to 20-30 metres in some places. If fast-flowing flood water hits the debris-filled roads, it could affect residential areas to the left or right of the river.
🏗️ Multimodal logistics park
Reliance will begin construction of the country’s first multimodal logistics park near the city.
What’s it about? The park was conceptualised 12 years ago, and work will now begin in earnest. Reliance Industries will construct the park at Mappedu next month. It beat out the Adani Group in 2022 for the bid to build the park on 184 acres of land.
- The project will facilitate efficient, cost-effective, and value-added logistics services like cargo aggregation, distribution, and intermodal transfer.
- The park is 52 km from the Chennai Port, 80 km from the Ennore Port, and 87 km from the Kattupalli Port. The park will cater to 7.17 million tonnes of cargo over 45 years.
Complementing other industries: Due to its location, the project will serve secondary market clusters in Ambur, Ranipet, and Tirupur. Industries like leather, automobiles, chemicals, and heavy machinery are present here.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you use Chrome or Firefox as your preferred web browser?
- I use Chrome as my preferred web browser.
- I use Firefox as my preferred web browser.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your preferred mode of transport to reach your place of work?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- RTO cracks down on over 1,000 vehicles across the city for traffic violations.
- The lowest bidder has been identified to prepare the project report for the Poonamallee-Parandur metro line.
- IIT Madras’ Paradox event for its two online BS programmes will include sports and cultural events.
- Startup Agnikul Cosmos’ latest test launch was postponed for the fourth time due to technical issues.
- Here’s a list of 12 must-visit places in the city for the best breakfast meals.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have bought medicines online: 50.0% 🏆
- I haven’t bought medicines online: 50.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What brand of shoes do you prefer?
Suchi: “Birkenstock”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!