Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: The Supertech twin towers in Noida are all set to be demolished today at 2.30 pm, putting an end to a 9-year-long battle.
The towers, Apex (32 storeys) and Ceyane (29 storeys), part of the Emerald Court, were found to be in violation of multiple regulations regarding construction following which a long legal battle was fought in the Allahabad High Court and then the Supreme Court of India which culminated in favour of the Residents Welfare Association. The morning visuals from the spot of demolition showed the cranes arriving, while the police were seen announcing to vacate the area around the Supertech Twin Towers in Sector 93A.
A combined force of NGOs is working to rescue dogs at the last moment before the Supertech Twin Towers demolition today.
“We have today saved almost 30-35 dogs. We’re working on getting out each and every one of them,” said an NGO member.
A family who lives in Emerald Court Society has vacated their flat and shifted to Parsavanath Village. Himanshu, a resident, said that they have been assured that they can shift by evening, but all are prepared for one or two days.
According to an official, the expressway will be closed just before the blast and will be opened again half an hour after the demolition.
“Expressway only to be closed right before the blast at around 2.15 pm. It will be opened half an hour after the blast, soon as the dust settles down. An instant command centre has 7 CCTV cameras. Traffic expert here along with us, monitoring all congestion points,” said DCP Rajesh S.
560 police personnel, 100 people from reserve forces, 4 Quick Response Teams and NDRF team have been deployed on the spot to tackle any untoward situation.
“Traffic diversion points have also been activated,” said the official.
The demolition of the Apex (32 storeys) and Ceyane (29 storeys) towers would leave behind approximately 35,000 cubic metres of debris that would take at least three months to be cleared.
The go-ahead for demolishing the twin towers with explosives was given by the Supreme Court.
The health impact of the resulting dust on residents will be minimal as experts overseeing the demolition will take steps to control the impact.
According to Dr Mrinal Sircar, Head Pulmonology and Critical Care, Fortis Noida said, “When you demolish a big structure like that there will be dust and there would be some smoke because you are using explosives. So, the direction of the air matters. The direction of the wind should also be taken into consideration. Demolishing like this or rather an explosion happening in the open air is much safer than say underground mines.”
Dr Sircar said that if this was something underground, where it won’t get dissipated, in such scenarios like underground mines, and explosions, they use various exhaust techniques so that it’s sewn out in the ambient air.
“The dust and gases will get diluted in the air and will get dispersed. The experts who are involved in such big demolitions will take care of all these things,” Dr Sircar said.
He said that the evacuation is taking place and the idea is that people can come back safely after whatever poisoning it causes in the next few hours once it is diluted in the air.
The Noida Police Commissionerate on Saturday issued an advisory on the eve of the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in the city, asking the media personnel to be stationed at the designated place for the media coverage, while also making sure to bring an ID card of the organisation.
“All the media personnel brothers are informed that the twin tower is to be demolished on August 28, 2022, following the earlier advisory by the Noida Traffic Police. All the media personnel will do parking and media coverage at the designated place. All the journalists will make sure to bring the ID card of their organization with them and for any help contact on the following number,” said the notice.
The exercise was earlier supposed to start on August 21 but the court accepted the Noida Authority’s request and extended its date of demolition to August 28.
