As firefighters battle the massive Chennai Silks fire, residents in and around T Nagar and West Mambalam are living with the stench of the burning building. One resident of West Mambalam said that while the smoke had not yet reached where they lived, the burning stench from the fire could be smelt even 1km away.

Many residents said that their eyes are burning and watering due to exposure to the smoke. 

Dhanyalakshmi, a resident of Lakeview road in West Mambalam, said, "Inside the house, there is no problem but when I stepped outside my eyes started burning. I’m trying to avoid the road near the fire. There is a burnt smell also all around the place.”

The situation is the same on the other side of Panagal Park, in T Nagar. Lalitha, a resident of Rameshwaram Road in T Nagar said, "Now there is just smell in this area. Till 3 pm, this area was also full of smoke but now it has subsided. It was difficult to walk around as the smoke caused burning in the eyes.”

Jay Kumar, a shopkeeper, whose shop is a few kilometres away from the scene of the fire, said that the burning sensation in the eyes and smell have reduced now. It was quite pronounced around 1-3 pm.

For senior citizens especially, the smoke has been a complete irritant. 

“We came to know about the fire around 6 am. There is a burning sensation in the eyes and we are also having breathing difficulties,” said 71-year-old Chandran, who lives in West Mambalam.

Also, with electricity cut off in many areas, residents are suffering in the heat and the smoke with no relief from fans or ACs.

Muthu, who works for a laundry service and lives in South Boag Road, T Nagar, said, “There have been constant power cuts in our area. Power comes for 10 minutes and then goes off again. It has been happening from 8.30 in the morning.”

In many areas, especially those close to the Chennai Silks building, visibility is also a problem. Sudaroli, who works in West Mambalam and regularly uses the local train service, said, "At the station, we could only see the approaching train at the end of the station. We could see thick smoke from the platform, and this was at around 4 pm. It could come into the station soon too."

The West Mambalam railway station is at a distance of 600 to 800 mts from the Chennai Silks building.

Meanwhile, the Chennai city traffic police have given traffic advisories for people who are commuting in the area.