Charging of Supertech twin towers in Noida postponed; demolition likely to be delayed

Noida: The process of fixing explosives at the Supertech Twin Towers has been postponed due to clearance issues raised by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), This is likely to delay the demolition of the structures scheduled for the afternoon of August 21

Noida: The process of fixing explosives at the Supertech Twin Towers has been postponed due to clearance issues raised by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), This is likely to delay the demolition of the structures scheduled for the afternoon of August 21. Charges were supposed to be placed on pillars of the towers from August 2 and the entire process was estimated to be completed in about15 days.

HT Image

The charging was postponed after a meeting of the Noida authority, CBRI, Supertech, and Edifice Engineering on Monday. Officials said charging will begin only after all concerns raised by the CBRI have been addressed. The institute has asked for several details related to the blast design, explosives to be used, vibrations and safety measures. Edifice is required to submit a response by August 5, following which the authority and the two companies will meet again on August 6.

“Once Edifice submits their replies, the CBRI will do an analysis and give its report. This report will decide the final timelines for the charging process,” a senior Noida authority official said.

During the last hearing, CBRI informed the Supreme Court that it is yet to get several reports on the blast design, ground vibration, post-demolition debris assessment, test blast, vibration monitoring report and dust cloud. Besides, the institute also sought details on the structural audit of nearby buildings from Supertech.

Additionally, Supertech has also been instructed by the Supreme Court to make the payments to the CBRI at the earliest. The institute has raised a bill for ₹72 lakh which is yet to be paid.

However, according to some senior officials, the delay in charging process may not delay the final demolition on August 21. Coordination issues are likely to be cleared within two-three days and since the Supreme Court earlier extended the deadline till August 28, the demolition needs to be conducted before that.

Additionally, police are yet to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) for using explosives. According to officials, the NOC is likely to be granted by Tuesday.

“We are waiting to get clearance from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), which is expected within a day. As soon as we get that, the police NOC will be granted,” said Love Kumar, joint commissioner of police (law and order).