The demolition of Supertech’s twin towers at Emerald Court can be carried out as scheduled on August 21 if ‘charging’ begins on Sunday, officials closely involved with the preparations have said.
‘Charging’, the term for packing explosives into the two towers, was supposed to begin on August 2, but deferred because the blast design and other aspects of the demolition are being scrutinised and vetted by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI).
However, if charging does not start on Sunday, a deferment of the demolition becomes the likelier, the officials said. The Supreme Court’s deadline for bringing the buildings down is August 28, which gives a 7-day buffer.
‘Charging’ the towers will involve bringing in 3,700 kg of explosives, a quantity not used in building demolitions in India before because the twin towers are bigger than any other structure to be brought down. Charging will require around 15 days. Edifice, the company tasked with the demolition, had kept a couple of buffer days in the schedule.
Sources said replies to all the questions asked by the CBRI were sent on Thursday by Edifice. The Supreme Court had stepped in after CBRI told it in the last hearing it hadn’t seen important documents related to the blast and asked Edifice to provide all the information CBRI had sought by August 5. A meeting will be held on August 6, on the court’s directions, where decisions on ‘charging’ and a deferment of the demolition date, if needed, are likely.
Sources said Edifice and its South African partner Jet Demolitions now have all NOCs in place for the demolition of the towers. “The preparations have been completed. CBRI is going through the replies and will give its feedback. Without its clearance, charging of the buildings cannot begin,” an official said.
Copious information, which includes sketches, have been forwarded to CBRI for review and vetting. Sources said the replies run into hundreds of pages and cover all technical details of the project. The NoC given by Noida police for explosives use has, meanwhile, set several terms and conditions.
The police have clarified that if there is any kind of loss of public property in the use of explosives, then its full responsibility will be on the executing organisation.
The police have told Edifice to ensure no column of the twin towers has more than five holes and none of the holes has an explosive content of more than 1.375kg. Charging will take 15 days because explosives will not be stored at the site. A vehicle under police escort will bring the explosives from a PESO-approved magazine in Haryana’s Palwal daily.
