Noida twin towers hog attention one last time as they get demolished

At 6.30 am on Sunday, every road in Noida led to Sector 93A, where the infamous twin towers, the 32-storey Apex and 29-storey Ceyane, were having their last day in the sun. It was also their last day in the glare of television cameras — at least a hundred of them were present. There were also hundreds of mobile phone cameras around. Everyone was vying to get one last selfie.

Aman Kumar, a 13-year-old from Bhangel near Noida’s Sector 102, cycled 5 km to reach the spot at 6 am. “I want to see whether this building will explode like they show in movies,” said Kumar, as he watched with awe the droves of reporters coming to the site.

For Kumar, and many others present, the demolition’s reason wasn’t important; the demolition on Sunday was just a spectacle to be watched and recounted over the coming days and weeks.

“I think they didn’t have government approval or maybe it is its height,” said Praveen Sharma, who had come with his wife to get a selfie to capture the rare incident.

As the clock chimed 7 am, S Rajesh, superintendent of police, Noida Central, was inspecting the surrounding areas and commanding his officers to close all the roads leading to the site. “We have CCTV cameras to track traffic movement and soon nobody will be able to enter,” said Rajesh.

Over 500 police personnel, 100 from the reserve forces, and four quick-response teams had cordoned off the area. At 11 am, the National Disaster Response Force took its position. Soon, all the roads leading to the site were blocked.

At 2.32 pm, in the blink of an eye, the site was engulfed by clouds of dust resembling the gigantic mushrooms arising out of a nuclear explosion.

It took eight years — the Allahabad High Court ordered the demolition in 2014 — more than 3,700 kilos of explosives, and a mere nine seconds to reduce the two towers, taller than the Qutub Minar, to rubble. The buildings were nearly 100 metres high, while the Qutub Minar stands at a height of 73 metres.

The Sector 93A resembled a scene from a Hollywood disaster movie. But the demolition became a symbol of all that could go wrong when one ignores construction regulations with impunity. It also became a beacon of hope and justice.

Though the authorities moved the residents and pets away, the resident birds were severely affected by the sound and dust.

The dust settled in an hour, but it will take 90 days to clear the 12,867 cubic metres of debris. Residents of the neighbouring ATS society said it would take months for things to return to normal.

Sajid Khan, 48, a resident of ATS, said everyone was happy that justice had prevailed. “Cleaning our house will take at least a week, but the environment will take months,” he said, and added, “we will check if there are any cracks in our apartment.”

Mayur Mehta, project manager of the demolition firm, Edifice, told Business Standard there was a Rs 100 crore insurance cover for any collateral damage. “We have 100 per cent cover up to Rs 100 crore,” he said.

Authorities said the overall structure of the nearby buildings was intact, but further inspections were on.

Meanwhile, twin tower builder Supertech Ltd said in a statement it respected the apex court’s decisions. “We have completed and given delivery of more than 70,000 units to homebuyers and are committed to give delivery to remaining homebuyers as per the scheduled time frame,” it said. In August last year, the Supreme Court had upheld the order passed by the Allahabad High Court and ordered demolition of the twin towers, which had more than 900 flats.

Meena Sharma, a 60-year-old resident of the area who left for her friend’s house, said she would not come back in a hurry. “I am an asthma patient. After watching the dust clouds, I think I will wait for a few weeks to go back.”

The memory of the two towers imploding and collapsing is likely to linger on for much longer than that.