New Delhi: Controlled explosions a little after 2.30 pm on Sunday, August 28, razed the illegally built 100-metre-high Supertech twin towers in Noida within seconds.
Anticipation filled the area around the twin towers as the time for the demolition drew closer. Ahead of the court-mandated implosion of the buildings, heavy police deployment was seen in the area where authorities had also stationed water tankers and anti-smog guns.
The roads in and around the twin towers were heavily barricaded with authorities not allowing any vehicles there. The Noida-Greater Noida Expressway remained shut between 2:15 pm and 2:45 pm.
They were the tallest structures to be demolished in India. Over 3,700 kg of explosives were used in the implosion that brought down the building.
The Apex (32 floors) and Ceyane (29 floors) towers were under construction since 2009.
The evacuation of around 5,000 residents of the two housing societies – Emerald Court and ATS Village – near twin towers was completed on Sunday morning.
The supply of cooking gas and power has been discontinued in the two societies in Sector 93A in view of the implosion.
Twin tower History Now!#TwinTowers pic.twitter.com/MDIXin0o8K
— Akash Rai (@akashrai_3575) August 28, 2022
The wind direction around the towers changed towards east ahead of their demolition, which experts said would make dust particles drift towards Greater Noida and Bulandshahr instead of Delhi.
For the last one week, the direction of wind was towards the west but the change was sudden, Regional Officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Praveen Kumar said.
“The wind direction today is towards the east. It is expected that dust particles in the aftermath of the demolition would go towards Greater Noida and Bulandshahr,” Kumar said.
Also read: Noida: SC Directs Demolition of Supertech Emerald’s Twin 40-Storey Towers in 3 Months
“The evacuation has been completed. The cooking gas and electricity supplies have been discontinued. They will be resumed after security clearance post demolition later,” a police officer told PTI in the morning.
Besides the residents, their vehicles and pets had also been moved out, the official added.
Note: This article, first published at 11.04 am on Sunday, August 28, 2022, was republished at 2:44 pm on the same day, with information on the demolition.