The coming up demolition of Supertech Twin Towers, on August 28, 2022, has raised several concerns among the residents. One of the concerns is the environmental impact of the demolition. CitySpidey reached out to Vikrant Tongad, a self-trained environmental conservationist to discuss the environmental aspect of the demolition. His organisation's Social action for the forest environment (SAFE) creates awareness towards mitigating pollution and conserving the environment.
Following are excerpts from the conversation:
What is the environmental impact of the demolition?
Vikrant says, “These towers are 100-meter high and demolishing them would be a challenge. I am following this case for a long time. Demolition is important as this is the Supreme Court's decision, but the demolition will certainly have an environmental aspect that has to be taken into account.
We are only talking about the demolition and what about the residents residing nearby? But we must think about the bigger picture. Natural resources have been wasted in this project. The building material, steel, labour, and energy were used. More than 10 crore litre of water. This is a threat to the environment to first make such a building and then waste resources further to demolish it.
What are the threats suspected to the residents living nearby?
Vikrant says, "There are things of concern, which every resident must understand. However, this does not mean that they should keep worrying or feel scared. Noida Authority has hired the world's top-class demolition company for the project. Supreme Court is handling this matter and the state government is taking care of this. Creating fear is not the right approach. Threats could be experienced in terms of pollution. 3700 kg explosives are being used. The elderly and the kids may experience breathing problems.
How much pollution could the demolition create?
Two kinds of pollution can be expected from the demolition, air and sound. There will be a huge balloon of dust and mountains of debris as soon as the building are demolished. The pollution would also depend on the wind direction at the time of demolition. More than 3000 trucks of debris will collect. Lots of steel will come out. The major challenge would be to sustainably dispose of the debris. Emphasis should be laid on recycling and reusing as much as possible.
The towers came up on the green space dedicated to a park. The Authority has said that it would take three month time to remove the complete debris. I think, removing all debris and developing a park, could take almost a year.
How do you socially see the demolition?
This is a major demolition. I have witnessed another such demolition in Kochi and saw how the debris is dealt with. However, the Kochi demolition was in a place where there weren't many residents. At Twin Towers, residents were not ready here for demolition of this degree. This is at the centre of many societies, and that's why the waterfall technique will be used for demolishing. First, the basement will be blasted, then the 1st floor will fall on the basement then the 2nd floor and likewise all floors. Though all protocol is being followed, people also need to cooperate. Safety audits are also going on simultaneously to safeguard residents from any danger.
What is the lesson from this demolition?
The question that appears is what about who passed the tender, and issued a NOC for this? The Noida Authority, builder, and fire department should be questioned about this carelessness. People and authorities need to be more vigilant to avoid corruption. They should keep tagging agencies if they see anything wrong, and they should not fear going to court. Agencies should also be aware that if the RWA or common citizens write a letter or tweet, that should be taken seriously. We must take this demolition as a lesson.
