As Supertech twin towers demolition nears, here's how Kerala flats were brought to rubbles | Watch

As all eyes are on the demolition of the Noida's Supertech twin towers on August 28, a case of Kerala flat demolition has created a buzz.

In January 2020, four apartments — Holy Faith H2O, twin towers of Alfa Serene, Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram — in Maradu area of Kochi district in Kerala were demolished, a video of which had grabbed eyeballs.

The Holy Faith H2O building was brought to rubbles within just 5 seconds. Watch the video here:

The Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of flats located in the Maradu municipal limits in Kerala after finding that they had violated coastal zone regulations.

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The flats were located in the CRZ-3 area, which had strict restrictions on construction activities. The court had issued an order, observing the violation of a rule that states that construction activities should not be carried out within 200 meters of the coastal zone.

Residents and flat builders appealed to the court against the order issued on May 9, 2019, but it was not accepted. Thereafter, the apex court directed the state government to demolish the flats.

After months of planning and inspections, the demolition began on January 11, 2020, with the help of government agencies and the country's best technicians.

The authorities used the method of implosion or controlled explosion to collapse the high-rise buildings on the spots within seconds.

According to Mint, nearly 750 kgs of explosives were used to bring down the lakeside structures in Maradu. Residents of the building were evicted and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was also imposed in the evacuation zone of 200-meter radius on the days of demolition.

Even though it was on the banks of the lake, the explosions was done with precision without even a handful of garbage falling into the water.

The government spent Rs 66 crore to demolish these four flats. Only Rs 3.6 crore was spent for demolition, the rest amount was paid to the residents as interim relief. Each of the evacuees got Rs 25 lakh as relief money.

After that, the Kerala government appointed a single-member judicial commission headed by Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan to enquire about the entire episodes that led to the demolition. The committee later found that officials were responsible for the illegal construction of flats in Maradu by violating the Coastal Act.

The Supertech twin towers are scheduled for demolition at 2.30 pm on August 28. Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering and their South African partner firm Jet Demolitions will carry out amid strict measures and arrangements in place.

In an exclusive interview with News18, Joe Brickman, the director of Jet Demolition, said preparations are now being done for the final day. "We are just making checks for the final day so that there are no disturbances," he said.