India's biggest demolition: Noida Supertech twin towers turn to dust in 9 seconds - Top points

New Delhi: The Supertech twin towers in Noida were brought down on Sunday (August 28, 2022) in a massive explosion. More than 3,700 kilograms of explosives were used to turn Noida's Supertech Twin Towers into dust. The towers, Apex and Ceyanne, in Noida’s Sector 93A were the tallest structures in the country demolished in a controlled implosion.

The blast, lasting about nine seconds, caps a nine-year legal battle between residents of Supertech Emerald Court and the realtor over the two towers. The nearly 100-metre-high structures, taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar (73 metres), were brought to the ground in seconds literally like a house of cards by the 'waterfall implosion' technique, in a breathtaking spectacle of modern day engineering.

Following the demolition, the next challenge for the Noida authorities will be to clear the mountain of debris. Earlier, the officials had informed that about 55,000 tonnes of debris would be generated due to the demolition, which will in turn take over three months to be cleared and dumped at designated areas. 

For the demolition, over 5,000 residents of Emerald Court and adjoining ATS Village societies in Sector 93A have to vacate their premises today morning. The authorities also removed nearly 3,000 vehicles and took away 150-200 pets, including cats and dogs, with them for the day.

Traffic diversions were planned and guidelines laid down to tackle any emergency. The authorities closed Noida-Greater Noida Expressway from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm, the city will remain a no-fly zone for drones. 

The two towers were rigged with over 3,700 kg of explosives. Explosives were inserted into nearly 7,000 holes in the pillars of the buildings and 20,000 circuits were set. The blast was planned to ensure that the towers fall straight down in what is called the "waterfall technique”.

Close to 500 police and traffic personnel were earlier deployed around Supertech’s twin towers in Noida. 

Meanwhile, Supertech, earlier on Sunday, said that the twin towers were conducted as per the building plan approved by Noida development authorities and no deviations were made. While talking to news agency PTI, Supertech added that the demolition of these two towers will not impact its other real estate projects, which will be delivered to homebuyers.

About Noida Supertech twin towers legal battle

The twin towers are being demolished after a legal battle that lasted 9 years. Notably, the Allahabad High Court ordered the demolition in 2014, after which the case went to the Supreme Court. In August 2021, the apex court gave three months to demolish the towers, but it's taken a year due to technical difficulties.

The builder initially had planned 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. The other has 29. While Apex is 103 metres tall, Ceyane stands at 97. The plan was to 900+ flats, two-thirds of which had been booked or sold. The Supreme Court has ordered the developer to provide a refund with interest to those who had bought flats in the structure.