Noida twin towers set for demolition blast after SC finds violations in construction, area evacuated

The demolition follows a nine-year legal battle, for which the area has been evacuated.

Arrangements have been also made to ensure that adjoining structures are not affected by the explosion.

The two towers have been loaded with over 3,700 kg of explosives. Explosives have been inserted into nearly 7,000 holes in the pillars.

According to reports, 20,000 circuits have been set and when triggered, these will crash the pillars in a manner that the towers fall straight down, called the "waterfall technique".

The collapse will last for nine seconds, according to the project engineer.

It will take about 12 minutes for the dust to settle, depending on the wind speed.

About 55,000 tonnes of debris will be generated from the explosion and it may take as many as three months to clear it. The debris will be dumped in designated areas.

The explosion is expected to trigger vibrations in a 30-metre radius for a few seconds while the magnitude of these vibrations might be about 30 mm per second -- similar to an earthquake measuring 0.4 on the Richter scale, officials said.

About 7,000 residents of the area have been asked to move out ahead of the demolition. Nearly 2,500 vehicles have been parked outside the area. Following a go-ahead, gas and power supply will be restored in the adjoining buildings by 4 pm, and residents will be allowed back in by 5.30 pm.

Officials said traffic on the Greater Noida Expressway, within the 450-metre no-go zone, will be stopped for half an hour,15 minutes on either side of the blast, from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm.

What is the issue?

Mumbai-based company Edifice Engineering has been tasked with demolishing the two towers following a nine-year legal battle and is working closely with the Central Building Research Institute and the Noida authorities.

The demolition order was passed by the Supreme Court after it found their construction on Emerald Court society premises in violation of norms.

According to reports, the builder had an initial plan to construct 40 floors in each tower. While some floors couldn't be built due to court orders, some were broken down manually ahead of the explosion.

One of the towers, Apex, now has 32 floors while the other has 29. The plan was to build 900+ flats, two-thirds of which had been booked or sold.

The Supreme Court has now ordered the developer to provide a refund with interest to those who had bought flats in the structure.

Residents of Supertech Emerald Court society moved the court in 2012 after these towers were approved as part of a revised building plan.

They said the towers were built at a site where was garden was initially planned. Illegalities were found in approvals and some officials faced action.

The Allahabad High Court ordered the demolition in 2014. The case then went to the Supreme Court. Last August, the court gave three months to demolish the towers, but it's taken a year due to technical difficulties.