Noida’s Twin Towers: According to the project engineer, the collapse will last nine seconds. It will take about 12 minutes for the dust to settle, depending on wind speed.
The Supertech Twin Towers in Noida, which are taller than Qutub Minar, will collapse to the ground at 2:30 pm today, nine years after residents alleged violation of norms in court. 3,700 kg of explosives will be used to destroy them
Supertech Twin Towers in Noida Being Demolished today
The demolition was ordered by the Supreme Court after the court found their construction in the Emerald Court Society premises violating norms. The company will demolish the buildings Noida Twin Towers at its own cost under the guidance of the Noida Authority.
When the ‘Supertech Emerald Court’ housing society was originally approved, the building plan showed 14 towers and nine storeys. Later, the plan was revised and the builder was allowed to build 40 floors in each tower. The area where the towers were built was to be a garden as per the original plan.
Following this, residents of Supertech Emerald Noida Twin Towers Court Society approached the Allahabad High Court in 2012 calling the construction illegal. The petitioners argued that Supertech Group violated norms to sell more flats and increase its profit margin. Accordingly, in 2014, the court directed the authority to demolish the towers within four months (at its own expense) from the date of filing the order.
Thereafter the matter went to the Supreme Court. Last August, the court had given three months to demolish the towers, but due to technical difficulties, it took a year. The Supreme Court found that the building norms were violated by the builder in connivance with the Noida authorities.
Several petitions were presented in the Supreme Court by homebuyers in support Noida Twin Towers and opposition to the Allahabad High Court’s decision.
Both the towers have been rigged with over 3,700 kg of explosives. Explosives have been pumped into about 7,000 holes in the pillars. 20,000 circuits have been set. When triggered, these drop the pillars in such a way that the towers fall straight down – this is called the “waterfall technique”.
According to the project engineer, the collapse will last nine seconds. It will take about 12 minutes for the dust to settle, depending on wind speed. About 55,000 tonnes of debris will be generated, and it may take up to three months to clear it. Debris will be dumped at designated places.
The explosion is expected to vibrate within a radius of 30 meters for a few seconds. According to officials, the intensity of these tremors can be around 30 mm per second – similar to an earthquake measuring 0.4 on the Richter scale. Officials say that Noida’s structures are built to withstand 6 earthquakes.
About 7,000 residents of the area have been asked to move out before the demolition. Around 2500 vehicles have been parked outside the area. After the go-ahead, gas and electricity supply will be restored to nearby buildings by 4 pm, and residents will be allowed to return by 5.30 pm.
The traffic on the Greater Noida Expressway, within the 450-metre no-go zone, will be halted for half an hour – 15 minutes on either side of the blaze, from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm, officials said. In Sector 93A, diversion will be done on the roads leading to the Twin Towers.
Some of the surrounding buildings are closer than 8 meters from the Twin Towers. There are others within 12 meters. They are covered with a special cloth to reduce the ingress of dust.
The demolition exercise will be under an insurance policy of ₹100 crore. This should cover the damage, if any, to the adjacent buildings. The premium and other costs will be borne by Supertech. While the cost of the demolition project could exceed ₹20 crore, the damage to the towers – skeleton as they were – is estimated at more than ₹50 crore.
Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering has been tasked to demolish two towers after a nine-year legal battle. It is working closely with the Central Building Research Institute and Noida authorities to bring down the towers after the Supreme Court declared their construction in the Emerald Court Society campus in violation of norms.
The builder had planned to build 40 floors in each tower. While some of the floors could not be built due to a court order, some were manually demolished before the explosion. One of the towers, the Apex, now has 32 floors. The other has 29. While the apex is 103 meters tall, the cayenne stands at 97. The plan was to have 900+ flats, of which two-thirds were booked or sold. The Supreme Court has ordered the developer to give refund along with interest to those who had bought flats in the structure.
The Twin Towers are being demolished after a nine-year legal battle. Residents of Supertech Emerald Court Society moved the court in 2012 after these towers were approved as part of a revised building plan. He said that the towers were built on the spot where the garden was initially planned. Mistakes were found in the approvals and some officials had to face action. The Allahabad High Court had ordered the demolition in 2014, the matter then went to the Supreme Court. Last August, the court had given three months to demolish the towers, but due to technical difficulties, it took a year.
