From high-rise to dust: Supertech's Noida twin towers demolished

Supertech's twin towers in the national capital region of Noida have been demolished. The twin buildings were demolished using waterfall implosion method.

Nearly 3,700 kgs of explosives were filled in over 9,000 holes in the columns and shears of the two 100-metre tall towers.

A massive evacuation drive was carried to ensure the safety of residents living in adjacent towers.

There was a massive security presence along with quick response teams and ambulances.

Roads leading to the two towers and the Noida Expressway were also closed.

Also watch: Noida's Supertech twin towers demolished: a timeline

The demolition of the structures leaves behind an estimated 35,000 cubic metres or 55,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes of debris which chiefly includes concrete rubble, steel and iron bars and would take another three months to be properly disposed of.

The Supreme Court had on August 31, 2021 ordered the demolition of the towers for violation of building norms in "collusion with district officials, holding that illegal construction has to be dealt with strictly to ensure compliance with the rule of law".

The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA), also called the Noida Authority, had received a rap on its knuckles as the top court pointed out multiple incidents of collusion of its officials with Supertech Ltd in the Emerald Court project and violations of norms by the realty major in construction of the twin towers.

"The case has revealed a nefarious complicity of the planning authority in the violation by the developer of the provisions of law," the Supreme Court had observed.

The local Noida Authority, which had approved the building maps in the first place, oversaw the mega demolition exercise which had been in planning for almost a year now.

Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering was tasked with the job and it had hired South Africa's Jet Demolitions for its expertise. The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) was appointed by the Supreme Court as technical expert for the project.

The top court ordered that Supertech would bear the cost of the demolition as it noted that the construction of twin towers, which was not part of the original plan for Emerald Court, directly affected the quality of life of its residents.

The only other precedence of high-rise structures in India being demolished are four housing complexes in the Maradu municipality area of Kochi, Kerala, in January 2020 in compliance with orders of the Supreme Court, which had held the 18-20 storey buildings to be illegal as they had been built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms.

Edifice and Jet Demolitions had collaborated for the Maradu complexes demolition, too. Jet Demolitions had individually successfully executed the implosion of the 108-metre-tall Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2019.