After the chief minister’s review, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Arvind Kumar issued detailed guidelines.
Published: 27th August 2022 04:22 AM | Last Updated: 27th August 2022 09:54 AM | A+ A A-
Supertech twin towers ahead of their demolition with explosives in compliance with a Supreme Court order, in Noida, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. (Photo | PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reviewed preparations for the demolition of the Supertech Twin Towers in Noida, which is scheduled to take place on August 28.
According to a statement issued by the government here, Adityanath said people’s safety should be ensured at all costs. He also directed to take care of the environmental challenges in view of the demolition.
Water tankers, sprinklers and smog guns will be used to clear the dust generated as a result of the demolition. Sweeping machines will be installed on the roads within a two-kilometre radius of the buildings.
After the chief minister’s review, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Arvind Kumar issued detailed guidelines.
Kumar said the preparations for the demolition of the towers have been completed.
The buildings near the towers will be vacated on August 28 at 7 am. Alternate parking arrangements and the protection of gardens will be ensured.
He said as per the CM’s directions, traffic on the roads around the Twin Towers will be restricted during the demolition.
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The Noida-Greater Noida Expressway will be closed for half an hour for safety at the time of demolition. A private firm has partnered with South African Jet Demolitions for the task.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Rajeshwar Singh on Friday wrote to Adityanath raising concerns about the possible environmental impact of the demolition of the twin towers.
The former Enforcement Directorate officer-turned-politician suggested measures to mitigate the impact of dust and debris once the nearly-100-metre tall illegal structures have been razed.
In a letter to the CM, Singh sought formation of a team headed by Additional Chief Secretary, Home, comprising Principal Secretary Environment, DO Fire Services, CEO Noida Authority, and Commissioner of Police, Gautam Budhh Nagar, among others.
"This team may be directed to immediately take stock of the situation and should ensure that minimum pollution hazards are there and sufficient steps are taken to mitigate the same," the BJP MLA wrote.
Over 3,700 kg of explosives would be used to demolish Supertech's illegal twin towers at 2.30 pm on August 28, leaving behind 35,000 cubic metres of debris and a cloud of dust.
Around 5,000 residents of nearby Emerald Court and ATS Societies would have to vacate their homes from morning till evening on August 28.
In his letter, Singh appealed to the CM to ensure that the hazardous materials and chemicals being used for the demolition purposes do not in any way seep into the underground water resources and pollute the same as a large number of people in the neighbouring area relies on the underground water to meet its daily needs.
"To kindly ensure that there are more than sufficient numbers of fire fighting vehicles, anti-smog guns, water tankers, water sprinklers, sweeping machines deployed so that the dust particles released from the demolition process can be contained as far as possible from spreading in the environment and the air," he added.
Supertech's Apex and Ceyane towers -taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar, are slated to be demolished in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of the norms.
Several people living in buildings close to Supertech's twin towers have decided to go for vacation while many will be putting up at hotels on Sunday.
The nearly 100-metre-tall towers, which came up illegally on Emerald Court's premises, will become India's tallest structures to be demolished by implosion technique in pursuance of a Supreme Court order.
Around 5,000 residents of two societies will be the most impacted when the structures go down at 2.30 pm on August 28, leaving behind a whopping 55,000 tonnes of debris.
The residents will be allowed to return only after 4 pm following safety clearance from officials.
Around 2,700 vehicles from both societies will also be removed.
Gaurav Saxena, who lives a few metres away from the twin towers, is going on vacation to Nainital with his family for three days.
Saxena fears dust allergy after the demolition.
"We have decided to go for vacation. My mother is an asthma patient. We can't take the risk of keeping her at home. So, we have decided to take a small vacation to Nainital. We will be able to spend some time outside the city and dust will settle down till then," Saxena said.
ALSO READ | Noida twin tower demolition: Health dept gears up for possible emergency situation
Talking about precautions he has taken, Saxena said he has covered his entire balcony with polythene to prevent the entry of dust.
"We have decided to wear N95 masks for a week after the demolition to prevent dust allergy," he added.
Monica, whose flat is in Aster 5 tower, said she has booked a hotel room for herself and her daughters while her husband is not in the town.
"My daughter has an exam on the day of the demolition. So, we have booked a room in a hotel so that her studies are not affected. We will go to the hotel a day before the demolition," Monica said.
Monica is confident that the demolition process will be conducted smoothly as so many agencies are involved.
She is, however, worried about health problems that may take place due to dust.
"It is very easy to develop lung problems. The dust that will be released from the demolition will enter our lungs and might cause several issues. I hope it settles down easy," Monica added.
Her neighbour Rajni Seth, who lives alone, said their Resident Welfare Association has arranged accommodation in a different building.
"We will adjust with our neighbours for a few hours. I will also go there and wait for the demolition to conclude," she said.
'150 per cent' confident of safely pulling down Noida twin towers: Demolition firm Edifice boss
If the construction of Supertech's twin towers in Noida was an engineering marvel, their demolition would be no less than a feat, says Utkarsh Mehta, whose Edifice Engineering has been tasked with safely pulling down the nearly 100-metre tall structures on August 28.
The Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering has partnered with South Africa's Jet Demolitions for the high-risk job that involves razing two high-rise structures in a manner that the residential towers at a barely nine-metre distance do not get affected.
Mehta says the Edifice and Jet team is "150 per cent confident" of a safe demolition and assured no structural damage except for a few "cosmetic cracks" would be felt in nearby buildings.
"We have got a Rs 100 crore insurance for damage during the event but are confident we won't have to claim it," Mehta told PTI in an interview.
The two firms have previously collaborated on taking down the Maradu complexes in Kochi, Kerala in 2020 which were four residential buildings with 18 to 20 storeys.
In 2019, Jet Demolitions had safely brought down the 108-metre high Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg, South Africa where the adjacent building was just 8 metres away.
Both the eye-popping demolitions were carried out by implosion technique, literally bringing down the building like a house of cards in a matter of seconds.
The same technique is being deployed for bringing down Noida's twin towers in less than 15 seconds, in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found them built in violation of norms.
ALSO READ | Demolition preparation of Noida's Supertech twin towers complete
"We, the Edifice and Jet Demolitions team, are 150 per cent confident that the structures would come down in the direction and in the precise manner as we have envisaged it.
"Implosion technique is used to make a building fall within itself while in explosion the debris goes outside. Implosion works on the principle of gravity," Edifice Engineering Partner Mehta told PTI.
"If you remove the legs of structure in such a fashion that the centre of gravity shifts even by millimetres, with time the structure has to come down. Gravity never sleeps. It works all day and all night. That's the whole idea of implosion," Mehta said.
On any previous experiences of implosion that they are referring to for demolition of Noida twin towers, Mehta said they are banking on the expertise of their South African partners who have been in the business for 45 years now and their own 20-year-old firm's works.
"There is no book of reference for this method of demolition. There is no specific way of doing it or any word written anywhere in the world on how to do it. It's only on the acumen of individuals and their experiences of doing it," he said.
He said the demolition team is deploying several equipments, including high and slow speed cameras, at multiple locations to capture the fall and to study the demolition after the job is done for learning.
"We have been very precise with what we are doing. If a hole drilled in building for explosives has to be 2.634 mm, then we have been precise to the last decimal digit. If we calculated that 9,640 holes have to be drilled, it has to be 9,640. We have to be precise in order to have the fall in the manner we envisage," he said.
"When we examine the pictures and videos afterwards, we notice if there is any piece of debris flying out, if yes, then which floor or what location and the reason for it, was it less covered, did we charge it more (with explosives), etc," he added.
On their collaboration for the high-risk job, Mehta said sometimes it's not about money but also about reputation.
"Jet Demolitions is a 40-45 year old company, we (Edifice) are a 20-year-old company. So we both would never risk our positions, we in our Indian market and they in the global market," he said.
"I can assure the residents that none of them has to be worried. Yes, dust is the only issue which we need to cater to. Apart from that there would be no structural damages," he said.
Mehta, however, said there can be "cosmetic cracks" in paint or plasters of close by buildings that have already weakened and some glass windows may also develop cracks.
"We have already got a contractor placed for work on the same day. Teams are going to be ready at 6 pm on that day once everything looks clear, and they will start replacing the cracked glasses," he added.
Over 5,000 residents of Emerald Court and ATS Village, the two closest societies to twin towers, will be evacuated on Sunday by 7 am.
Some 2,700 of their vehicles will also be removed from the premises and the residents will take away around 150-200 of their pet cats and dogs too with them.
An exclusion zone will be created in a radius of up to 500 metres around the twin towers where no human or animal would be allowed except for a team of Indian and foreign blasters engaged in the demolition.
Over 3,700 kgs of explosives are being used to implode the Apex and Ceyane towers.
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