NEW DELHI: Mounds of debris, shattered glass shards, ash and dust scattered all around: a passerby can well mistake it for a war-ravaged site.

This, however, is the spot on Supertech’s Emerald Court compound in Noida Sector 93A, where once stood two majestic towers, nearly 100-metre-high, taller than even Delhi’s Qutub Minar (73 metres).
On the Supreme Court’s directions, Ceyane (29-storey) and Apex (32-storey) — found to be constructed in violation of multiple regulations – were demolished on Sunday 2.30 pm via ‘waterfall implosion’ or what some say ‘controlled implosion’, which lasted for 12 seconds, making them the tallest structures to be demolished in the country.

A lot of preparation had been done to ensure minimal damage to the surroundings, including evacuation of the residents of the adjacent buildings to safer places, closure of the airspace for about 30 minutes and diversion of surface traffic.
As master blaster Chetan Dutta pressed the button, the twin towers crumbled to the ground, creating a minor tremor in the area. After the breathtaking spectacle of modern-day engineering, what remained there were piles of rubble, broken pillars and an ash-covered ground. Greenery around turned grey in seconds.

Over 3,700 kg of explosives were used in the implosion that brought down the buildings.
After the “successful” demolition, Utkarsh Mehta of Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering, tasked with the procedure, told PTI that no structural damage to adjacent buildings were reported even as a physical site inspection was on.

Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Love Kumar also said there was no report of damage to nearby buildings after Supertech demolition. “Structural audit is underway.”

There were, however, some minor damages to a nearby structure. The 10-metre-long boundary wall of the neighbouring ATS society was damaged after being hit by the debris. Also glasses of Tower 6A at ATS Village got damaged.
Ritu Maheshwari, CO, Noida Authority, told news agency ANI that no information of damage from anywhere other than ATS was received.
Meanwhile, cleaning work has started and power and gas supplies restoration will start soon. “Around 100 water tankers and 300 cleaning staff were deployed. AQI is also being monitored and we will release the data in a while,” Maheshwari added.

It is to be noted that pre- and post-demolition AQI is almost the same.

Also, the residents of nearby vacated societies started to come back to their homes around 7pm.
(with inputs from agencies)