Twenty days after a major fire gutted the Chennai Silks building in T Nagar, the demolition process is finally complete. The debris in front of the building, that continues to block Usman road however, will take another two days to be cleared.
On May 31, an alleged short circuit led to a fire in the basement of the building. It soon spread to all seven floors, completely damaging the construction. Though fire officers battled the flame for over 24 hours, the pillars of the building had weakened leading to parts of the structure collapsing.
The Fire and Rescue Department had said that the building will be completely razed down in three days but a private contractor who was handling the demolition said that it could take over 10 days for the process to be completed.
To make matters worse, on June 10, a jaw-cutter operator was crushed to death while he was repairing the machine. Workers were all given a day off, following this incident. Meanwhile, portions of the damaged building continued to fall apart and on to Usman road, on multiple occasions. Residents near the building were directed to temporarily shift out till the demolition was completed.
"The pillars in the ground floor are still intact. We have ensured demolition of the other six floors," said a police officer at the site. "The ground floor will be removed with the rest of the debris," he added.
The Usman road flyover that has remained shut for 20 days will be reopened on Tuesday night. The road however, will remain cordoned on both sides, till the debris on it is cleared.
"The debris present at the road will be cleared in a day or two. But as far as the remains with the area which was occupied by the building is concerned, that is for the owner to handle," said the police officer.