A month left, but no plan yet to bring down Supertech twin towers

NOIDA: With a little over a month left to bring down the twin towers at Emerald Court, the Noida Authority and developer Supertech are yet to come up with any plan on how to demolish the two buildings.

On Wednesday, a meeting among officials of three different companies, Noida Authority and demolition experts from the US and UK was held. But none of the participants could come up with any concrete plan. On August 31, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of the twin towers in three months, ruling that they had been built in violation of the law. The Authority has to complete the demolition process by November 30.

“At the meeting, most of the companies spoke about their background and expertise. They also showcased some examples of recent demolitions of tall buildings across the world. But most of them had space available to carry out the implosion and bring down the buildings safely,” said an official of the Authority. Chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari and additional CEO Neha Sharma were among the senior officials who represented the Authority at the meeting.

One of the primary hurdles that agencies might face while bringing down the towers (Apex and Ceyane) is the distance between them and the 12-storey Aster 2, which has occupants in flats. Officials said the distance between the twin towers and Aster 2 is only nine metres.

Sources said it was suggested at the meeting the agencies should carry out a controlled implosion so that the 110-metre tall buildings come crashing down towards the park and open area right opposite to the two towers in Sector 93A.
A month left, but no plan yet to bring down Supertech twin towers“That is the only plausible option we have as of now. The towers will crash on the road and the park,” an official said. Among the companies that participated in the meeting were Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering, which was instrumental in bringing down a 68-metre tall building in Kochi, and Mumbai Genesis Engineering.

A couple of weeks ago, a team of officials from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which is helping the Authority carry out the demolitions, had flagged a few practical problems that were holding up the demolition plan. The CBRI team found it difficult to carry out several key measurements in the absence of enough light. The officials also could not inspect the basement of the twin towers as it was flooded after a spell of rain.

At Wednesday’s meeting, sources said Maheshwari had asked Supertech to expedite the process of preparing the action plan so that the Supreme Court’s deadline wasn’t violated. Supertech has been asked to fund the demolition exercise. The developer, sources said, was given a week’s time by the Authority to finalise a plan.