Chennai ready to brace yellow
Amidst the election fervor, Chennaites will start bleeding yellow from today as the country catches cricket fever with the commencement of the IPL 2019. Euphoria is high especially in the city as sport-loving Chennaites did not get a chance to witness any matches in a home ground in the last season due to political unrest. The defending champion CSK will take on RCB on the first day (March 23rd).
Southern Railway has announced special services between Chennai beach station and Velachery on March 23rd and March 31st.
Source: The Times of India
Day Zero threat for city
As the summer heat intensifies, the water crisis in the city grows graver by the day. With open wells in most of the places drying up, people have begun sinking borewells up to 700 feet, only to find water with high TDS level. The groundwater level is expected to worsen further, given that the city has had one of its worst northeast monsoons, recording a deficit of 55%.
For those in multi-storied apartments in areas like Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam road and OMR, who do not have Metro Water connection and depend only on private lorry tankers for their drinking water, the threat of water scarcity looms large.
With the four reservoirs going nearly dry, there has been an increase in the number of calls to ‘Dial for Water Service’ every day. In the past month, the number of trips made by water lorries daily has escalated, touching 7,071 on Wednesday, which is 500 more trips compared to February. Chennai Metrowater is planning to hire 100 more lorries to meet the growing demand.
Source: The Times of India | Deccan Chronicle | The Hindu
Chennai Metro launches monthly pass
Chennai Metro continues its commuter-friendly initiatives, this time with a monthly pass that provides for unlimited rides. The commuters can now travel on the Metro any number of times in a day, from any station along the 45-kilometre Phase I stretch, using the pass. The passes are available at Rs 2,500 with a refundable deposit of Rs 50.
Chennai Metro already has a smart card (that provides a 10% discount) and a trip card (that offers a 20% discount and allows people to take a fixed number of rides between two stations). CMRL believes that the monthly smart card will be useful for marketing professionals and tourists.
Source: The New Indian Express
Chennai among the cheapest cities to live in
Chennai was ranked among the cheapest places to live, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. New Delhi and Bengaluru have also been named in the list.
The survey ranked 133 cities in 93 countries and the costs analyzed were of food, clothing, and transportation. The survey had taken New York as the benchmark city.
Source: The Week
North Chennai to get an eco-park
Chennai Corporation has begun work on an ecological park on an eight-acre plot in North Chennai ’s Korukkupet. The city already has six parks that the civic body has converted into theme-based spaces. The new eco-park will have an artificial pond spread across 1.5 acres and a separate track for walkers and cyclists. The designs of the theme parks are closely aligned with the objectives of the Smart City Mission and they will be larger than the regular parks.
Source: The Times of India
[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]
Untill the elections are over, the Government will find some way to supply water for the city..but after that.. God knows what we are going to do. The city has grown exponentially during the last decade and the Government(s) has made no solid plans to provide basic amenities like water, electricity , roads etc for the citizens. Should declare Chennai / TN to be in a state of drought and get all the help we can from other states..