One of the towers is 103 metres tall, the other stands at 97
The Supertech twin towers in Noida are set to be demolished at 2.30 pm today by a massive explosion. The area has been evacuated and arrangements have been made to ensure that adjoining structures are not affected by the explosion
The two towers have been rigged with over 3,700 kg of explosives. Explosives have been inserted into nearly 7,000 holes in the pillars. 20,000 circuits have been set. When triggered, these will crash the pillars in a manner that the towers fall straight down -- it's called the "waterfall technique".
The collapse will last for nine seconds, according to the project engineer. It will take about 12 minutes for the dust to settle, depending on the wind speed. About 55,000 tonnes of debris will be generated, and it may take as much as three months to clear it. The debris will be dumped at designated areas.
The explosion is expected to trigger vibrations in a 30-metre radius for a few seconds. The magnitude of these vibrations, according to officials, may be about 30 mm per second -- similar to an earthquake measuring 0.4 on the Richter scale. Noida's structures are built to withstand earthquakes measuring up to 6, say officials.
About 7,000 residents of the area have been moved out. Gas and power supply in the adjoining buildings have been suspended. They will be restored by 4 pm, and residents will be allowed back in by 5.30 pm. Police have asked residents to wear masks indoors when they are allowed back into their homes, owing to the dust caused by the blast.
Officials said traffic on the Greater Noida Expressway, within the 450-metre no-go zone, will be stopped for half an hour -- 15 minutes on either side of the blast, from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm. Diversions have been placed on roads leading to the twin towers in Sector 93A.
Some of the adjoining buildings are as close as 8 metres to the twin towers. There are others within a 12-metre radius. They have been covered by a special cloth to minimise dust penetration. The area has been declared a no-fly zone of one-nautical mile.
The demolition exercise will take place under a Rs 100 crore insurance policy. This should cover damage to adjacent buildings, if any. The premium and other costs have to be borne by Supertech. While the demolition project may cost upwards of Rs 20 crore, the loss of the towers - skeletal as they were - is estimated at more than Rs 50 crore.
Mumbai-based company Edifice Engineering has been tasked with demolishing the two towers following a nine-year legal battle. It is working closely with the Central Building Research Institute and the Noida authorities to bring the towers down after the Supreme Court found their construction on Emerald Court society premises in violation of norms. An hour to go for the demolition, the realtor stressed there was "no deviation" from the building plan.
The builder had planned to construct 40 floors in each tower. While some floors couldn't be built due to court orders, some were broken down manually ahead of the explosion. One of the towers, Apex, now has 32 floors. The other has 29. While Apex is 103 metres tall, Ceyane stands at 97. The plan was to 900+ flats, two-thirds of which had been booked or sold. The Supreme Court has ordered the developer to provide a refund with interest to those who had bought flats in the structure.
The twin towers are being demolished after a legal battle that lasted 9 years. Residents of Supertech Emerald Court society moved the court in 2012 after these towers were approved as part of a revised building plan. They said the towers were built at a site where was garden was initially planned. Illegalities were found in approvals and some officials faced action. The Allahabad High Court ordered the demolition in 2014. The case then went to the Supreme Court. Last August, the court gave three months to demolish the towers, but it's taken a year due to technical difficulties.
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