Noida authority to meet today to finalise demolition date of Supertech towers

The demolition date of the twin towers was initially planned on May 22. However, the demolition company, Edifice Engineering, had sought extension from the Supreme Court till August 28 as more time was needed for preparation. The extension was granted by the apex court on May 17. The final date of the demolition is expected to be around the third or fourth week of August, said sources

The Noida authority has arranged a meeting of all stakeholders on Tuesday to decide the final date of demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Sector 93A and to address the concerns being raised by residents of neighbouring Emerald Court housing society.

The Supertech twin towers at Sector 93A in Noida on Monday. (Sunil Ghosh/ HT)

The demolition date of the twin towers was initially planned on May 22. However, the demolition company, Edifice Engineering, had sought extension from the Supreme Court till August 28 as more time was needed for preparation. The extension was granted by the apex court on May 17. The final date of the demolition is expected to be around the third or fourth week of August, said sources.

Noida authority officials said that the meeting will also have representatives from residents who have been raising concerns related to safety and structural audit of their buildings, dust and pollution and how the green areas will be managed. Officials said that these concerns, raised mainly by residents of Emerald Court and ATS Village, will also be addressed in the meeting, as officials from the Pollution Control Board will also be present. Incidentally, a few towers of Emerald Court are just eight metres away from the twin towers that will be demolished.

“We will review the preparedness and address the concerns of residents. They have been raising some issues that we will discuss with all the stakeholders in the meeting. Our main agenda is to ensure a safe demolition process according to the norms,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer (CEO) of Noida authority.

Officials said that dust and pollution during the preparation stage for the demolition is a major concern. It has been addressed by the installation of several dust mitigation equipment at the site, said officials.

“With the dates getting extended from May to August and over 50% of the work done, residents have been raising concerns about continuous dust coming from the site. Other issues include whether it will be safe for the neighbouring buildings and what will be done to protect the green areas in the society. Also, while the Supreme Court has set August 28 as the day of the demolition, we will finalise the exact date in Tuesday’s meeting,” said a Noida authority official.

Edifice Engineering had earlier informed that a basic audit will be done before and after the blast to ensure that there is no damage to the neighbouring buildings. Officials had also said that a dust cloud is usually formed during the blast that dissipates within a couple of hours. However, there is no way of minimising or controlling the dust cloud, said an official from Edifice Engineering.

“We have completed around 85% of the drilling work and over 60% of the preparation work. The details will be finalised in the meeting with Noida authority,” the official added.

The drilling work is expected to be over in the next 15 days. The company will need to drill 8,810 holes in the two buildings that will each be about 2.2 metres long. A total of around 15 kilometres of holes will be drilled into the buildings. Other work at the site includes cutting shear walls, drilling holes in load-bearing walls, demolishing some of the non-load bearing walls, covering and layering the columns and walls with steel sheets and geotextile fabric, installing containers as a wall of separation between the Emerald Court buildings and the twin towers and other protective measures.