A project manager, three engineers and 170 workers make up the first deployments at the Emerald Court twin towers as preparations to bring down the buildings – 100 metres and 97 metres tall – in an exercise unprecedented in scale in the country begin.
Pre-demolition work is on in full swing at Ground Zero, the compound of Apex and Ceyane in Sector 93A, where a blast perimeter will be created to absorb shock and debris from the implosions that will flatten the 32-storey buildings, likely in the third week of May. The tentative date for the demolition of the towers has been set for May 22.
The removal of bricks will be a tedious process as the workers go floor to floor and apartment to apartment with hammers and dismatle the walls piece by piece till the buildings are stripped to columns and beams for the eventual implosion. Taking all the bricks out and removing other parts like window frames, grilles, doors, wiring and plumbing will take two months, officials said.
A team of eight experts, including a ‘master blaster’ and a safety engineer from the Edifice Engineering’s office in South Africa are likely to arrive by the end of this week to examine the twin towers and finalise the implosion plan. The blast design is also likely to be ready within a week’s time and handed over to the Noida Authority, which will submit it to the Supreme Court on February 28.
The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the twin towers in August 2021, holding thy were built in violation of law. Earlier this month, it set a two-week deadline for the demolition process to begin. The court had originally ordered the towers to be taken down within three months of its order.
Edifice, the firm hired for the demolitions, has taken over the site for about a week. A senior officer of the company at the twin towers told ,another 80 workers will be deployed in the next couple of days. “Altogether, there will be 250 workers carrying out the removal of bricks, electric panels, internal pipes and other removable objects. This work has to be completed in the next two months. The drilling work for placing explosives will begin subsequently. The total drilling in the two towers will be about 3km in length,” the officer added.
Of the eight experts who are arriving, six will be stationed in Noida till towers are demolished. Two experts – the ‘master blaster’ and the safety engineer – would be shuttling between India and South Africa and checking on progress. The ‘master blaster’, a specialist in structures and explosives, will make the final blast design, the officer said.
Uttkarsh Mehta, partner at Edifice, said, “The team of experts will come here on February 25 and conduct a site inspection. We will keep adding experts. The blast design will be ready by then and we will submit it to the Noida Authority.” Mehta added that except for columns, beams and slabs, everything would be taken out. Removable items constitute about 15% of the entire structure. It is being done to ensure there are no obstacles during the fall of the structures. Bricks and other such items, otherwise, will restrict the fall. Besides, their removal clears the passage for beams to come down,” he said.
Mehta said the structural audit of nearby buildingsill commence by mid-March.
