<h5>What's the story behind Noida's twin towers?</h5>  <p>In 2004, the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) gave a plot of land to a company called Supertech Ltd. to build a housing society. The name given to this housing society was Emerald Court. </p>
<p>On 20th June 2005, the building plan was approved by the Authority. It included a total of 14 towers, each with a 37-metre height limit. In 2009, two more buildings were added to the plan. These were called Apex and Ceyane (together they were known as the twin towers).</p>
<p>The construction of the twin towers ended up becoming the focus of a legal dispute between the residents of Emerald Court and Supertech. Let’s find out what happened!
</p> <h5>What was the legal dispute about? Who won?</h5>  <p>In 2012, the Emerald Court owners’ Residents Welfare Association filed a case with the Allahabad High Court (High Court), claiming that the two new buildings were illegally constructed. The High Court agreed and ordered their demolition in 2014. Supertech filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court. They found that the towers were violating several laws such as not following fire safety rules, not maintaining the minimum distance between two buildings, etc. </p>
<p>In the original plan, there was an area designated to be made into a garden. The towers encroached on this area. Ultimately, the garden was removed by Supertech entirely without the approval of the residents. On 31st August 2021, the Supreme Court confirmed the demolition of the twin towers.
</p> <h5>How were the twin towers demolished?</h5>  <p>The two towers were demolished using a technique called ‘waterfall implosion’. Using this technique, demolition experts make a structure or building fall inwards and onto itself. </p>
<p>Explosives are placed strategically throughout the building that has to be demolished. Once they are all set, a trigger is used to make the building collapse like water in a waterfall (that’s why it’s called waterfall implosion).  </p>
<p>The demolition was done by a Mumbai-based company called Edifice Engineering. They used a total of 3,700 kg of explosives. All it took was nine seconds and these huge towers were no more (poof!).
</p> <h5>What is the impact of such a demolition?</h5> <figure>
        <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/the-fall-of-noidas-twin-towers%2Fthe-fall-of-noidas-twin-towers-section1.jpeg?alt=media&token=382fce58-47b4-4d0f-8094-5e86457520af" alt="What is the impact of such a demolition?" >
        <figcaption>The debris of the twin towers. Photo by PTI.</figcaption>
      </figure> <p>There is quite a significant impact of such a huge demolition! The entire area (or even the city) will be covered with a thin layer of dust - after all, the debris of the building is about  80,000 tonnes. The quality of air will also remain bad till all the dust settles. </p>
<p>
Since there are so many particles in the air, people may experience respiratory issues or even stomach problems. Groundwater and soil fertility will also be impacted due to this. 
</p> <h5>Are such buildings usually demolished? </h5>  <p>Any building that has been constructed illegally can be demolished after the court orders it. In 2020, four tall buildings were demolished in Kochi, Kerala using the same waterfall implosion technique!</p>
<p>
Let’s hope the dust settles soon so the environment and people are not harmed by the demolition. 
</p>

The demolition of Noida’s twin towers has been what everyone’s talking about! Let’s find out why and how they were demolished!

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