Day after Noida twin towers demolished, debris clean-up continues

Police personnel remained deployed on the road stretch in front of the now-demolished twin towers on Monday. The stretch has been barricaded for a fortnight now for security reasons.

A day after the 100-metre-tall illegal twin towers of Supertech in Noida's Sector 93A were reduced to dust in a ‘waterfall imposition' technique, cleaning up of debris was in full swing on Monday. Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari, who visited the demolition site, told news agency PTI that nearly 500 workers, 100 water tankers and 22 anti-smog guns were deployed for the cleaning purpose.

Workers near debris of the demolished twin towers of Supertech, in Noida on Monday, August 29, 2022. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

Not just debris, areas inside and outside the nearby housing societies of ATS Village and Emerald Court, were also cleaned, she added.

“Six sweeping machines have been installed around the now-demolished twin towers area to complete the cleaning work inside and outside ATS Village and Emerald Court societies at the earliest and mitigate dust-related issues,” Maheshwari said.

Another contributing element in the cleaning process was the much-awaited rain in the NCR that brought quick respite from dust and smoke that remains a concern for those residing around the now-razed to-the-ground twin towers site.

Maheshwari said authority officers have been instructed from extensive cleaning of Court and ATS. While residents of Court have sought one more day to complete the cleaning - which has been accepted as well, ATS will require a week.

The twin towers that were taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar were demolished after a Supreme Court order. This was the biggest controlled explosion in India's history, and ended an almost decade-long legal battle, led mostly by senior citizens.

Although the demolition was a success, a few damages were reported following the controlled explosion. Officials confirmed a crack of 10 metres on the compound wall of ATS. Furthermore, windowpanes of several flats in both Court and ATS were crushed during the demolition.

However, in a major relief, a gas pipeline that ran through the demolition site remained intact and without any damage.