Charging of twin towers underway in Noida

Noida: The countdown has begun for the August 28 demolition of the Supertech twin towers as charging of the structures in Noida’s Sector 93A started amid tight security on Saturday morning

Noida: The countdown has begun for the August 28 demolition of the Supertech twin towers as charging of the structures in Noida’s Sector 93A started amid tight security on Saturday morning.

Noida, India- August 13, 2022: A view of Supertech Twin towers ahead of its demolition at Noida’s Sector 93A, in Noida, India on Saturday, August 13, 2022. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The process started at 9.30am, around two hours behind schedule, as the magazine where the explosives were stored was not ready for the dispatch.

The explosives were brought to the site from its storage magazine depot 100 kilometres away in Palwal, Haryana, escorted by two Gautam Budh Nagar police vehicles that had armed personnel.

“We had 46 people on site on the first day. They included six foreign blasters, 10 Indian blasters and 30 labourers trained in handling explosives. Fixing of explosives will start from the top floors and we will move downwards,” said Uttkarsh Mehta, partner, Edifice Engineering.

The charging process started with the 32nd floor of Apex tower that is taller by three floors. Approximately 250 kilograms of explosives, mostly shock tubes, were used on the first day of charging, said sources.

“We started with the top floor and will alternate between both buildings and go downwards simultaneously,” said Kevin Smit, senior site manager from Jet Demolition Ltd, the South African partner of Edifice Engineering.

Over 3,700kg of explosives will be used to bring down the 103-metre-tall structures and around 250kg of explosives will be transported to the site daily. Even one gram of leftover explosive will not be stored at site, but sent back to Palwal.

According to the blast design, there are 11 primary blast floors and seven secondary floors in Apex tower that has 32 floors. With 29 floors, Ceyanne tower will have one less primary blast floor.

Meanwhile, the road in front of the twin towers was also closed and a diversion was made by the traffic police. Around 20 police personnel have been deployed for traffic management as well as security outside the premises of the twin towers and to secure the adjoining boundary wall area with ATS Village and Emerald Court housing societies.