More than 3,700 kilos of explosives were used to demolish in just nine seconds this Sunday two huge skyscrapers of thirty floors in the vicinity of New Delhi, whose implosion generated great expectation in India for being located just a few meters away of various residential buildings.

The popularly known as the ‘twin towers’ of Noida, a northern town near the capital, reached a height of 103 and 97 meters respectively, and became the tallest buildings to be demolished in India, after exceeding 68 meters of a hotel that was demolished in the south of the country in 2020.

The proximity of the skyscrapers with several houses led the security forces to evacuate some 5,000 residents, in addition to covering the surrounding buildings with tarps and diverting road and air traffic for half an hour before the immense cloud of dust that caused the shoot down

The Police, who deployed half a thousand troops on the ground, also established a 450-meter exclusion zone to prevent the dangers of a demolition that is estimated to have generated some 55,000 tons of waste.

Given the high levels of contamination that were expected to be reached in the following moments, nearby residents were recommended to wear masks at home to protect themselves, at least during the quarter of an hour that it was calculated that the cloud of dust would take to settle.

The demolition was broadcast live on several televisions, and the Indian media followed the latest news of the demolition from early in the morning to the minute.

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous. I’m nervous. I’ve had goosebumps since morning. I’m a little nervous but also confident,” one of the engineers in charge, Utkarsh Mehta, told the press today before the demolition. Delhi NDTV television.

Social networks were also filled with photos and videos of the towers, especially last night when hundreds of users took the opportunity to say goodbye to some skyscrapers that they would never see again.

The demolition of these two skyscrapers puts an end to a long legal battle of nine years between the residents of the nearby buildings and the company in charge of their construction.

According to neighbors, the towers were built on a site where a garden was initially planned and a court found illegalities in the approvals, ordering in 2014 the demolition of the twin towers within four months.

However, the case had to reach the Indian Supreme Court, which a year ago ordered its demolition for violating construction regulations.

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