Napier Bridge has been repainted ahead of the 44th Chess Olympiad. (Supriya Sahu/Twitter)The 44th International Chess Olympiad is set to begin on July 28, and Chennai is ready to play the perfect host to the competition.
As such, as a surprise for the citizens of Chennai and the tournament’s competitors, the city’s British-era Napier Bridge, built over the Coovum River near Marina beach, got a classic makeover — like a chessboard.
Taking to Twitter, Supriya Sahu, principal secretary of the department of environment, climate change, and forests in the Tamil Nadu government, shared a picture of the customised bridge that she captioned: “Chennai, the chess capital of India, is all set to host the grand Chess Olympiad 2022. The iconic Napier Bridge is decked up like a chess board.”
Chennai the Chess Capital of India is all set to host the grand, Chess Olympiad 2022. The iconic Napier Bridge is decked up like a Chess Board.Check it out 😊 #ChessOlympiad2022 #ChessOlympiad #Chennai pic.twitter.com/wEsUfGHMlU
— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) July 16, 2022
M K Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, also gave a peek of the bridge to Twitterati.
Captioning the video, he wrote, “Welcome To Namma Ooru Chennai!”
Welcome To Namma Ooru Chennai!
வருக… வருக… தமிழ்நாட்டுக்கு வருக!
Superstar @rajinikanth🙏#ChessChennai2022 https://t.co/L2hvMm8XT4
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 15, 2022
But netizens were not impressed, and many said the design, which looks like an optical illusion, can lead to road accidents.
@mkstalin sir, this is dangerous for some drivers. Will create dizziness and not good. pls take this out pls…. No repetitive patterns on roads plzzzzzz…
— SNAFU (@Srivida) July 16, 2022
A welcome move to integrate art, sports into urban spaces – but this must be done taking various health conditions into consideration too… Even if it’s a one-way road, some ppl might get dizzy and uncomfortable…
— Rishika M (@rishika_mg) July 16, 2022
This can cause serious accidents. What a strange idea!!
— Rants&Roasts (@Sydusm) July 16, 2022
Is it safe to put this type of pattern on a road? I mean it surely will make you dizzy driving on a sunny day.
— Kunal (@EngineerMonk) July 17, 2022
Public road with “improper” markings are safety hazard
Could’ve placed big chess pieces at either side of the road,but instead they chose this pic.twitter.com/wvOkSGfQ3w
— ً (@col_hindsight) July 16, 2022
Earlier, actor Rajinikanth had released the teaser video for the Olympiad that is scheduled to take place at Mamallapuram near Chennai until August 10.
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