Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: The forecast is for sunny weather with high temperatures.
🧐 Did you know? Records showed that the Lying-In Hospital, the predecessor of the Egmore Government Maternity Hospital, was one of the first in India to recognise a transgender person.
🚶 Accessing schools
Chennai Corporation is working with other agencies to ensure kids have safe access to schools.
What’s it about? The Corporation is partnering with the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) and City Investments to Innovate, Integrate, and Sustain (CITI-IS) to ensure kids have safe access to schools. In some areas like Ambattur, Madhavaram, and Alandur, schools are on narrow streets, and kids use public transportation.
- A study was done near a Chennai school at Pulla Avenue. Officials from several agencies met to discuss the challenges for kids to access educational institutions safely. CUMTA will conduct a World Bank-funded study in some of the city’s core areas.
- Among the possible solutions is to ensure streets have zebra crossings, barricades in place, and a separate lane to walk. Some school zones could also be made no-vehicle zones with widened roads.
Necessity: In 2019, more than 50 kids were killed in accidents, according to data from the Corporation. Some government school teachers persuaded their students to not use cycles since they saw accidents right outside the school.
🌳 Corporation damaged roots
While digging for stormwater drains, the Corporation damaged the roots of four trees on Basin Power House Road.
What happened? When digging for stormwater drains, the Corporation apparently didn’t consult the parks department or the district green committee. The drain along the road is for the water that drains from Basin Bridge to Pulianthope.
- The Corporation didn’t study any alternate routes. The contractors dug directly at the spot where the old trees were rooted. Several other trees were also bent and posed a risk of falling on pedestrians.
- If there was an obstruction, one solution was to prune the tree to reduce its weight. There was a similar issue in Adyar where the contractor didn’t consult the district green committee.
Warnings: Recently, in KK Nagar, a banker died after a tree close to a stormwater drain fell on her moving car. The Corporation should’ve studied possible deviations before digging.
🕹️ Mars rover model wins award
A rover designed by IIITDM for the Mars expedition won second place at the European Rover Challenge (ERC) 2023.
What’s it about? Students from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design, and Manufacturing (IIITDM) secured second place at the 2023 ERC in Poland. The team was the only Indian contingent, and the rover, called Vajra, was selected for its ability to function on its own.
- The six-wheeled rover has a custom rocker-bogie suspension system. The suspension system helps in navigating the uncertain and challenging terrain of Mars.
- Its low centre of gravity helps in stability and manoeuvrability. It also has a robotic manipulator with 6 degrees of freedom. Its autonomous system is capable of planning and traversal.
Another victory: The institute’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) society’s team Nira, qualified for the MATEROV World Championships in Colorado, USA.
📷 Anaesthetist and bird photographer
Dr Deepthi Cheran showcases her photography skills by capturing images of birds.
Who is she? Dr Cheran is an associate professor of anaesthesia in a Chennai government hospital and a trained liver transplant anaesthetist. After learning photography from wildlife photographer Rathika Ramasamy, she has travelled to several places to click photos of birds.
- She has travelled to Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka in search of different species and captured images of 300 to 400 species.
- For her, bird photography is a stress buster since work hours at the hospital are hectic.
Captures: At Pulicat Lake, she spotted a group of flamingos. During a recent visit to the Nilgiris, she spotted the black-and-orange flycatcher and the Velvet-fronted nuthatch. Among her prized images are the Nilgiri Sholakili chick and the Oriental Dwarf kingfisher at Thattekad.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you taken the Metro to any of the city’s transport hubs like Central, the airport, or the Koyambedu bus stand?
- Yes, I have taken the Metro to at least one of the city’s transport hubs.
- No, I haven’t taken the Metro to at least one of the city’s transport hubs.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s the best place to get Pizza in the city?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- 137 survivors of the Coromandel Express accident arrived in Chennai via a special train.
- Flats and shops in Choolaimedu’s Chitra Nagar have been served a discontinuation notice.
- Pallavaram residents complain about a pig menace since they breed and enter localities.
- The historical significance of several of the city’s old buildings is being erased due to modern development.
- Shiv Das Meena inspected the Corporation work in Adyar and Ruyapuram.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!