Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Overcast weather with more rain.
🧐 Did you know? The Cosmopolitan Club was originally located at Moore’s Garden in Nungambakkam and was referred to as Club House.
🏗️ Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam
The proposed Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam will give the city a new lease of life.
What’s it about? A recent study showed that implementing the Vada Chennai project will require over ₹5,000 crore. The state government has already allocated ₹1,000 crore for the project in North Chennai for three years.
- The project will focus on holistic development in a 170 sq km area. Growth opportunities and development projects will focus on eight sectors. Among them are healthcare, education, and physical infrastructure.
- It includes initiatives like increasing green cover and development works by the Chennai Corporation, metrowater, and water resources department.
Some specific projects: One proposed project is to rejuvenate the Buckingham Canal. Others include the reconstruction of a maternity hospital in the United India Colony, a public health material and storage centre, and upgrading schools in North Chennai.
⚕️ Health centre shortcomings
Urban Health Centres (UHCs) in Chennai have inadequate staff and medicines.
What’s it about? For many citizens, UHCs are the only option for checkups and treatment of illnesses since private hospitals may be far off and are expensive. However, many UHCs in the city aren’t equipped to handle patients, with minimal staff and inadequate medicines in stock.
- The UPHC at Velachery has now shifted to Adyar, and the existing one in the area isn’t equipped to handle patients with dog and snake bites. Over 3 lakh people are dependent on a single UPHC on Gandhi Salai.
- Several UPHCs, including newly inaugurated ones, don’t have doctors or nurses like the one at Tiruvottiyur. In many clinics, doctors don’t arrive on time. Patients are forced to travel 3-4 km to other clinics.
What’s the Corporation saying? The Chennai Corporation insists that there are sufficient doctors and staff. After 140 primary and urban centres were inaugurated in June, recruitment of doctors and nurses began. The Corporation maintains 140 UPHCs, 16 urban community health centres, and 3 maternity centres.
🦈 Shark fin smuggling persists
Despite a ban on their exports, smuggling of shark fins continues.
What’s it about? With high demand from abroad, the smuggling of shark fins continues in Chennai despite a ban on their exports. Fishermen dry the fins and sell the meat in markets. In a month, about a tonne of shark fins are smuggled out of the city.
- Previously, milk sharks were a popular catch by Chennai fishermen. Now, boats going toward the Andaman and Nicobar Islands get a large quantity of sharks.
- The price of fins ranges between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000. Shark and guitarfish fins are popular in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. The fins are usually sent to Kolkata by road and train. Then it’s on to the northeast and their final destinations in South East Asia.
What does the law say? After a recent amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the Pondicherry Shark, Whale Shark, and Gangetic Shark have been categorised under Schedule 1. The export of fins of any shark species is banned.
📚 Donating books
The Hyatt Regency has organised a book donation drive in the run-up to Christmas.
What’s it about? With Diwali behind us and Christmas ahead, the Hyatt Regency has encouraged patrons to donate books for a good cause. The books will be stacked and showcased as a Christmas tree at the hotel.
- The drive focuses on collecting books from nursery to class 12. They’ll then be donated to the Presidency Girls School once their library is built. The hotel has taken up the work on the renovated library with books for every age group.
- While the preference is English books, other languages are also welcome. Every person who donates a book gets a cookie in return. It’s an invite to the tree lighting ceremony and to meet the girls from the school.
Giving back: The hotel wanted to do something different this Christmas. They decided to give back by distributing something meaningful and useful.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you ever been to a sports bar?
- I have been to a sports bar.
- I haven’t been to a sports bar.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What would you name a pet dog or cat?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Anna Nagar East residents are wary of stepping outside their homes due to the stray dog menace.
- The Chennai Metro, as part of its phase 2, will build 23 multi-modal hubs.
- The Chennai Metro relocated two 75-year-old exotic trees to the Queen Mary’s College campus.
- Differently-abled cyclist defies the odds and continues to pursue his passion for cycling.
- The Southern Railway will launch the first overnight Chennai to Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!