T Nagar residents irked by dust from demolition

V Rangan, a 63-year-old retired professional who lives behind the gutted structure, said that their house is filled with fine dust. “When the demolition process was announced, the ministers promised that residents won’t be affected. There is a lot of dust and there is no protective covering around the building to ensure that the fine particles don’t affect the other homes. 

The water lorries, meant for the residents, are being appropriated for the demolition. The worst part is that we don’t even know whom to approach to air our grievances,” said the senior citizen. While some residents have shifted temporarily to alternative locations, many are still living in the locality. Their lives are yet to return to normality. 

V S Jayaraman, founder member of the T Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said, “Initially, the ministers claimed that the building will be demolished in three days but from the way it is proceeding, it looks like it will take more than a week from now. The residents living around are inconvenienced a lot. Most of the routes are still cordoned off. We have asked the residents to air their grievances to the association. We will take it to authorities.”

 It may be recalled that a major portion of the seven-storeyed Chennai Silks building on Usman Road in T Nagar, crumbled during the early hours of June 1, 2017, after a major fire engulfed the building on May 31.