Demolition of the tower of corruption in Noida on 28 August.
One nautical mile of air space around the twin towers demolition site in Noida will remain briefly unavailable for flights on August 28, the Noida Authority has said.A nautical mile is equal to approximately 1.8 kilometres.The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has given its consent for this, the Noida Authority said as it oversaw preparations for the demolition of the nearly 100-meter-tall twin towers on Sunday.
The demolition of Noida’s Supertech twin towers, explained: process, impact and concerns.
Noida Supertech Twin Tower Demolition on 28 August: The highest structure in India to be demolished, the towers have a height of almost 100 meters — taller than the Qutub Minar.
After much anticipation and a nine-year-long legal battle, the Supertech twin towers of Noida will be reduced to rubble on Sunday (August 28). The towers, Ceyane (29 floors) and Apex (32 floors), that are part of the Emerald Court project of Supertech Ltd, were found to be in violation of multiple regulations regarding construction, and are therefore being demolished.
The highest structure in India to be demolished, the towers, comprising about 850 flats and located in Sector 93A near the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, have a height of almost 100 meters — taller than the Qutub Minar. Preparations, from charging the buildings to clearing the area, are in full swing. The resident welfare association (RWA) has directed residents of nearby apartment complexes, ATS Greens Village and Emerald Court, to evacuate by Sunday morning. According to the police, Emerald Court has 15 towers and ATS village has around 25 towers and four villas.
The surrounding area of 500 meters radius is marked as an exclusion zone, where no human or animal will be allowed except for the members of the team in charge of the demolition. Apart from this, the police, a team of the National Disaster Response Force, eight ambulances and four fire tenders will be deployed at the site.
Why are Noida’s Supertech twin towers being demolished?
Supertech was granted approval in 2005 by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) to build 14 towers with nine floors each, a shopping complex and a garden area. However, it revised its project in 2009 to include twin high-rise buildings — Apex and Ceyane. Even though the NOIDA authority approved the new plan, the Emerald Court Owners Residents Welfare Association (RWA) moved to the Allahabad High Court in 2012 alleging it was an illegal construction.
In 2014, the Allahabad High Court ruled that the towers were illegal and ordered demolition. The Noida Authority and Supertech approached the Supreme Court challenging this order. On August 31, 2021, the apex court upheld the ruling of the Allahabad High Court and ordered the demolition of the buildings.
The Supreme Court found the construction of the twin towers in violation of the minimum distance requirement.
It said the towers were built without complying with building regulations and fire safety norms.
Protection of the nearby residents.
A day before the demolition of the Supertech Twin Towers in Noida that are taller than the Qutub Minar, the Project Manager of the team deployed for the task assured the nearby residents to have faith in them and said that the best team was working to ensure a safe demolition. “I understand the concern of the nearby people here, but I would like to give the message to them that please don’t be afraid. The best team in the world is working on the project,” said Jigar Chedda, Project Manager, Edifice Engineering, while also expressing hope for everything to go well during the demolition of the Supertech Twin Towers in Sector 93A, Noida tomorrow.
Covering of the adjacent buildings from top to bottom is underway – four buildings of ATS Greens Village and four buildings of Emerald Court are being covered with geotextile fabric to protect them from dust and debris.
“ATS has four towers within a 50 meter radius of the ones that are to be demolished. I’ve been told the entire ATS complex, of 25 towers and four villas, will have to be vacated. I was also told that vehicles will have to move out. Electricity is likely to be cut during demolition. We have advised residents to cover external units of air conditioners, to protect from dust,” Chaturvedi said.
UBS Teotia, president, RWA, Emerald Court, said they have approached the Noida Authority requesting help with cleaning up the dust that is likely to settle in the surrounding area after demolition. “They have left the evacuation to us, individuals will have to make arrangements,” he said.
Around 50 pillars in the basements of the Emerald Court towers are now being repaired, Teotia said. “Supertech has engaged a contractor to repair. We don’t know if it will be completed by August 25. They are doing it last-minute. Work began on strengthening the pillars about a week back. It should have been done three months back,” he added.
Process of demolition.
Noida: 250-300 kg of explosives being placed in Supertech twin towers every day.
The towers are to be fitted with a total of around 3,700 kg of explosives on select floors, and around 100 workers are at the site, with the charging lasting from around 7 am to 6.30 pm.
The ‘charging’ of the two Supertech towers in Noida, slated for demolition on August 28, is on track to be completed by August 25, according to the team executing the demolition.
‘Charging’ involves loading explosives into the buildings. Of the two tower, charging of Ceyane, the smaller building standing at a height of around 97 meters, is around 80% complete, said Mayur Mehta, project manager, Edifice Engineering, which is carrying out the demolition in collaboration with Jet Demolition, a South Africa-based company. The charging of Apex, second tower with a height of around 103 meters, is 15% complete, he said.
As per our schedule, charging is to be completed on or before August 25. We are on track to complete it by then,” Mehta said. Plastic explosives are being placed in the building at the rate of around 250 to 300 kg per day. The tower are to be fitted with a total of around 3,700 kg of explosives on select floors, and around 100 workers are at the site, with the charging lasting from around 7 am to 6.30 pm.
Apart from the charging itself, preparation of the tower – breaking up internal and external walls, drilling holes into the columns for the explosives, and wrapping the columns with geotextile and chain link fencing – was complete by July 25, Mehta said. “We got permission on August 12 (for charging), and we started charging on August 13,” he added. The exact evacuation plan is yet to be given, said Atul Chaturvedi, president of the ATS Greens Village RWA. “Once a meeting is held by Noida Authority to finalize evacuation of residents and timings, that will be shared with residents. Since it is a unique event and we have not seen this earlier, there is some sense of anxiety and we are keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes well,” he said.
