JOIN USExplained: The Supertech twin towers case and how it was demolished
A breathtaking spectacle of engineering successfully razed down Supertech's twin towers, symbolic of illegal construction and corruption, in Noida on Sunday.
DH gives you a point-by-point guide on what happened with the twin towers and how the demolition took place:
1. The Supertech towers were demolished after a Supreme Court (SC) order in August 2021 cited its illegal construction. In its verdict, the SC pointed out multiple instances wherein the builders colluded with officials in authority in Noida to build the structure in violation of building codes. "The case has revealed a nefarious complicity of the planning authority in the violation by the developer of the provisions of law," the SC had said.
2. The 'Supertech Emerald Court' housing society was supposed to be built in Sector 93A in 2004/ 2015 in Noida. In 2005, Noida authorities had sanctioned building plans for 14 towers with nine floors each. However, the plans were later revised and the new design had twin towers with 40 floors each. After this, the Emerald Court residents welfare association moved to the Allahabad High Court alleging that it was an illegal construction. In its 2014 and 2021 judgements, SC upheld that it was an illegal structure that violated fire safety norms, building codes and minimum distance requirements. It also said the new building plan which constructed the two towers Apex and Ceyane by removing the garden area shown to homebuyers in the brochure was done without the consent of the flat owners.
3. The top court had directed that the entire amount of home buyers be refunded with 12 per cent interest from the time of the booking and the RWA of Emerald Court project be paid Rs 2 crore for the harassment caused due to the construction of the twin towers, which would have blocked sunlight and fresh air to the existing residents of the housing project adjoining the national capital
4. The twin towers -- taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar -- was brought down, after a nine-year-long legal battle, with 3,700 kg of explosives in just nine seconds by waterfall implosion technique. The buildings collapsed like a house of cards. No damage was caused to nearby buildings – the closest two being just nine metres away.
5. The controlled explosion has left behind nearly 55,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes of debris, which would take at least three months to be cleared from the site.
6. Over 5,000 residents, along with their pets, of Emerald Court and ATS Village – the two closest societies to the twin towers – were evacuated by 8 am. Some 2,700 of their vehicles were also removed from the premises. Volunteers vacated the stray dogs from the area.
7. An exclusion zone in a radius of up to 500 metres around the twin towers was created before the dmolition where no human or animal was allowed except for a team of Indian and foreign blasters engaged in the demolition. The air space within one nautical mile radius above the blast was also briefly unavailable for flights during demolition time, according to Noida Authority.
8. Over 500 police and traffic personnel besides the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed to oversee the process.
9. While the demolition took place, the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway was closed from 2:15 pm to 2:45 pm and the city remained a no-fly zone for drones.
10. The residents of the nearby building would be allowed to return after 6:30 pm only after safety clearance from officials. The cooking gas and electricity connections of the buildings in the vicinity of the twin towers were cut for safety reasons.
11. As much as 21,000 cubic metres of the debris would be moved out and dumped at an isolated land measuring five to six hectares in the city's Work Circle-7 limits and the remaining would be accommodated in the basement areas of the twin towers where a pit has been made.
(With agency inputs.)
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