According to experts, with the recent concept of skyscrapers in the country, there is little expertise or research in the demolition of such buildings. supertechApex and Cayenne were planned to have 40 floors each, of which 32 have been built so far. The demolition will present a formidable challenge because of the surrounding buildings. Nearest, a neighboring building in the same Emerald Court The complex is separated from the walls of the twin towers by a narrow driveway.
Although there are many techniques for demolishing such high structures from top to bottom or vice versa, experts say that implosion is the preferred method for densely populated areas. In this technique, small explosive devices are placed at several places in the building in such a way that in case of explosion, the debris falls inside the premises. While such demolitions have been done around the world, and on a smaller scale in India as well, it requires a lot of preparation. Additionally, in the case of the twin towers, it would be a challenge to preserve the structural integrity of the neighboring towers within the Emerald Court.
“There is hardly any instance of skyscraper demolition or related research in India and the Noida Authority will need to hire foreign consultants as experts. So far, the technology is successfully used everywhere, said Divya Kush, president of the Indian Institute of Architects.
The closest such demolition was of four multi-storeyed complexes in Maradu, Kerala in January 2020. These buildings were also ordered to be demolished. Supreme court Because they were constructed in violation of zoning rules. Of these, the tallest building had 18 storeys.
Experts involved in the Maradu demolition said that the survey and preparation takes maximum time, as the placement of explosives must be precise to prevent any damage to surrounding buildings. Anand Sharma, director of Rajasthan-based firm Exicday Pvt Ltd, which led the demolition of two towers of Alpha Serene, one of the Maradu complexes, said, “The explosion needs to be planned and thoroughly designed. We select the floors to be detonated, remove the supports and walls from these floors and place the explosives in such a way that the pillars detonate one after the other. ”
He said the nearest residential building in Maradu was about 8 meters away, while the Aster-II tower of Emerald Court, nearest in Noida, is about 9 meters away. “There are many factors to consider, which is why the logistics and cost cannot be calculated prior to an in-depth survey of the area,” Sharma said.
“The blasts should be done in a very controlled manner. Col MK Prasad (retd), a former structural expert of the Indian Army, said the intensity of the blast would depend on the height of the building, total area, dead weight, floor weight and supporting pillars.
Experts said the debris from an explosion rarely affects nearby buildings, but the dust clouds could last longer, depending on wind flow. “We prefer to evacuate everyone within a radius of at least 50 meters to 100 meters of the explosion in densely populated areas. Dust can remain in the air for 10-15 minutes, but the whole process takes longer. People need to be taken out for at least 3-4 hours,” Sharma said.
According to Utkarsh Mehta, a partner at Edphis Engineering who demolished other buildings in Maradu with consultants from South Africa, the biggest challenge is controlling the flying debris to ensure that the building turns inward like a pack of cards happened. He estimated that the entire demolition process in Noida, from planning to debris removal, would take four months.
“In Maradu, it took us about 15 days to plan, two months to prepare the buildings for the blast and another month to clear the debris,” Mehta said.
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