We all saw the 9 seconds of Noida’s Supertech Twin Tower demolition on the 28th of August. But do we know why was it demolished and delayed so much and do we know the after-effects of this demolition?
The Noida-based development company Supertech started the construction of the project Emerald Court during the mid-2000s.
The project was supposed to have fourteen nine-storied towers. The plan got changed to 15 buildings of 11 stories each. The new plan also included 2 more towers that were the twin towers that would reach 40 stories each and this was when the problem began.
The twin towers known as Ceyane and Apex were originally green areas promised to the residents of Emerald Court but Supertech built the twin towers instead. So, the residents of Emerald Court demanded the twin towers be demolished and asked the Noida Authorities to cancel the approval granted for the Twin towers.
After a decade-long battle, the Supreme Court of India finally gave the final decision in 2021 and ordered the demolition of the twin towers. Still, the Supertech builders appealed to the Supreme Court to review its order. The decision of the court saw the deadline for the demolition getting pushed back. But Supreme Court refused to budge and stood by its final verdict.
The demolition was finally carried out on the 28th of August 2022. It was carried out by Edifice Engineering, a Mumbai-based company using 3700 kg of explosives. A technique called implosion was used where explosives are placed in drilled holes in the building. 7000 holes were drilled and over 20000 circuits were set for demolition, 500 meters of the area around the building was cleared out. All the residents of the residential complex were evacuated. The electricity and gas connections were also cut. Exactly at 2:30, a controlled explosion was carried out using the waterfall technique and the total cost of demolition was Rs 20 crore.
The after-effects of the demolition have left 55000 tons to 80000 tons of debris at the site. So, after the demolition, a dust cloud emerged and nothing was visible for around 30-60 minutes. The cleaning of the debris would take around 3 months. The levels of pollution also increased in Noida due to this.
Now the question which arises is was this the last time that due to some higher authorities, the general public is suffering, or will this keep happening again and again?
[Demolition clip: https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChzOwPigcv8/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y]
SAUMYA PHOPHALIA
Jaipuria Talks Blog 