Darkness enveloped the homes at Block A of the Tower Block Apartments on MTH Road in Villivakkam on Monday.
Barely 24 hours after a fire triggered panic among the occupants of the 62-apartment complex, residents have not entirely recovered. It will take at least four days to replace the cables that were burnt down in the accident. Only after the cable work is completed will the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board resume power supply to the building, residents said.
Residents thus have to make alternative arrangements. “With no electricity for the next four days, we have to rely on shops outside for water. They charge Rs. 10 per can. We will have to manage this way until the water problem is solved,” one of the residents said.
Tauseef Nawaz had come to Chennai from Bangalore to spend Eid with his mother, Zeenath Nawaz Khan, who lives in the A block. “With no electricity, we have been forced to go to a relative’s house,” he said.
“Initial estimates peg the cost of replacing the cables to around Rs. 10 lakh,” building manager G. Suresh said. Since around 59 of the 124 flats (62 each in blocks A and B) in the complex belong to various banks, including Syndicate Bank, Allahabad Bank and Union Bank, they have promised to lend money to the association.
Meanwhile, the association is also planning to collect funds from flat owners, Mr. Suresh added.
On Monday, the fire department briefed the residents on fire safety, following which they decided to remove the garbage chute and the collection bin from both blocks.. Officials from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, Electricity Board and the police inspected the building. They also held a meeting with MLA J.C.D. Prabhakaran to discuss their future course of action, Secretary of the building’s association A. Sridhar said.