India demolishes illegal 100m ‘twin towers’ outside Delhi

NOIDA, Indian:   India demolished two residential high-rise buildings outside New Delhi on Sunday (Aug 28), in a dramatic spectacle carried live on television channels after days of thrilled media build-up.

The damage of the 100m high “Twin Towers” in Noida, home to a concrete forest of similar structures, seemed to be a rare example of India getting tough upon corrupt developers and officials.

The 32 floors of Apex and the 29 of Ceyane, that contains between them nearly one, 000 apartments that were never inhabited within nine years of lawful disputes, were delivered down in seconds, creating an enormous cloud of dust and debris.

The controlled implosions using 3, 700kg of explosives were India’s biggest demolition to date, local media reported.

A large number of people, as well as stray dogs, had to be evacuated before the blast, including from neighbouring high-rises, one of which was apparently just 9m away.

There were simply no immediate reports associated with injuries or damage to nearby buildings but a local official told reporters that the operation had gone “largely since planned”.

Indian native media reported moment details of the demolition, including the number of holes drilled for the costs (9, 642) and the volume of debris produced (80, 000 tonnes).