Initial preparations for the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida Sector 93A will begin in the first week of August, sources said. According to sources, the process for charging the twin towers which involves placing explosives in the building, will begin within a few days this week. Edifice Engineering, the company responsible for the demolition, had earlier said that the demolition will take place on August 21 at 2.30 pm, officials at Noida Authority said. Two other buildings, Supertech Emerald Court and ATS Village Apartments, are in the vicinity of the demolition site. UBS Teotia, president of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of Emerald Court, said they had employed Revathi Raman, a structural engineer, to carry out a structural audit of Emerald Court who recommended certain repairs in the building. “We had engaged a company to carry out a structural audit to assess the impact of the demolition on the building around two-three months ago. According to the report, around 300 columns in the 50-metre area of the blast need repairs. We have already submitted the report to Noida Authority and will be meeting with officials sometime this week,” Teotia said. On July 29, in a Miscellaneous Application filed by Supertech Ltd before the Supreme Court, the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) submitted that it had sought relevant information regarding the blast design, ground vibration, post-demolition debris assessment, test blast, vibration monitoring report, dust cloud along with the structural audit report in respect of the nearby buildings. The apex court in its order issued the following directions: “For this purpose, we permit CBRI to address a comprehensive communication on or before August 1, 2022, to Noida (Authority), with copies to Edifice Engineering and IRP of Supertech, specifically setting out information which is required by the CBRI. The information shall be collated and supplied to CBRI on or before August 5, 2022. Thereafter, NOIDA shall convene a meeting of representatives of CBRI, Edifice Engineering and the IRP of Supertech on August 6, 2022, so as to sort out the matter.” The Supreme Court further observed that CBRI had submitted a proposal on April 24 and that Noida Authority in its status report, has sought a direction to Supertech to make payment to CBRI which shall be made within 10 days. Noida authority shall submit a status report in the meantime, the apex court said. The matter is next listed on August 12. In a note shared by the Authority on July 19, Edifice Engineering had submitted a vibration prediction report with it, officials said. The vibration prediction report noted that the maximum vibration caused due to the demolition is expected to be 34 mm per second, while the structures in zone-5 are designed according to the norms of 300 mm per second, and there is no need for a structural audit. The authority said if CBRI recommends a structural audit, Supertech will have to get it done by a reputable consultant immediately. The Supreme Court, on August 30 last year, ordered the demolition of the twin towers within three months, for violating regulations on the distance between buildings.
