Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: More rainy weather for today.
🧐 Did you know? The building currently serving as the Triplicane police station is the city’s oldest police station. It has stood the test of time for over 120 years.
🛫 Terminal 4 trials
Trials have begun at the airport’s Terminal 4 to help bring relief to domestic passengers.
What’s it about? The trial at Terminal 4 began with the inauguration of domestic flight services. Airport officials hope that shifting domestic operations to this terminal will help in better handling passenger numbers.
- The inaugural flight was an Air India flight with 148 passengers from Port Blair. The flight then departed for Bengaluru with 152 on board.
- Airport officials announced that Terminal 4, which underwent renovations alongside the construction of the new Terminal 2, is now operational. Air India and Alliance Air will be the first to shift their operations to Terminal 4.
Increased passenger count: Once the entire integrated terminal is complete, Chennai airport’s passenger handling capacity will increase to 30 million per annum.
🦟 Accurate dengue reporting
With quick test results not accepted, dengue cases in the city might be underreported.
What’s it about? The quick test for dengue done within five days of the onset of fever has been turned down by the Chennai Corporation. This could result in the underreporting of dengue cases in the city. The Corporation has insisted on a more standardised antibody test, which takes a day to rule out false positives.
- The therapid test which gives the results in a few hours is a valid indication of a positive or negative. When used properly, it’s as sensitive as other molecular tests, and it helps detect the NS1 non-structural protein.
- The Corporation said the NS1 positive cases are categorised only as suspected dengue. Cases are confirmed only when the IgM or IgG tests are positive since they’re more standardised.
What’s the fallout? Since the IgM and IgG tests are done only 5-7 days after the onset of symptoms, it could lead to a large underreporting of cases in the city. Some people may not have a fever after day five, so don’t turn up for IgM tests.
⚕️ Health checkups for police and kin
A special diabetic checkup camp was inaugurated for police personnel and their kin.
What’s it about? Wellness on Wheels (WOW) is a scheme involving 15 medical teams from the Nuberg Diagnostics Centre where they’ll visit police quarters to conduct health checkups. The camps will run till December 1.
- The scheme has a special vehicle fitted with ECG, USG, and X-ray equipment. The mobile facility also has audiometry test kits, eye testing, and blood sample collection kits.
- The police personnel and their families will undergo tests and be assessed for their height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and sugar levels.
Locations covered: The scheme will cover police quarters across several areas, including Mylapore, Thousand Lights, Egmore, Pudupet, Kondithope, and Anna Nagar. These quarters have at least 15,000 police personnel residents.
🕹️ MIT’s drones
Drones with technology developed by MIT will be used by the Indian Army in difficult terrain.
What’s it about? 500 drones assembled with technology developed by the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) will soon be used by the Indian army in the northeast and hilly regions. They’ll be used to transport medicines and other essentials to remote locations.
- Using a GPS, the drones can be piloted for 20 km at a 1 km altitude. They’ll use proximity sensors for landing. They weigh 100 kg and can carry 15-20 kg of medicines, food, and provisions.
- MIT professors Senthil Kumar and Thamarai Selvi secured an Indian patent for the timer-based switch. It enables the drones to restart and fly after the arming switch is activated.
Trials: Researchers at the Kalam Advanced Drone Research Centre conducted tests and trial runs in Leh, Ladakh, and dense jungles in the northeast.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Did you do any Diwali shopping this year?
- I did some Diwali shopping.
- I didn’t do any Diwali shopping.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
How often do you exercise in a week?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Sub-inspector K Saravanan credits his healthy lifestyle to his love of cycling.
- Tambaram residents have no choice but to dump waste in the open since it doesn’t get collected regularly.
- The micro-composting centre run by the Corporation at Pudupet raises no stink.
- The first spell of rain resulted in minimal damage as Chennai remained largely free of inundation.
- Kovilpatti: The Town That Papered India showcases the town’s rich cultural heritage.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer a dog as a pet: 80.0% 🏆
- I prefer a cat as a pet: 20.0%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s a landmark that defines Chennai?
Suchi: “Marina beach”
Kalaiarasi: “Marina beach”
Kavi: “Anna Centenary Library”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!