Odia scientist who played key role in Noida twin tower demolition

The world watched in awe as the Supertech twin towers came crumbling down in Noida on August 28. But little did anybody know that scientists from Odisha had played key roles in the controlled demolition.

A structural engineer from Roorkee IIT, MM Dalabehera designed 10 black boxes which were placed inside the twin towers to collect sensitive data just before, after and during the demolition process.

The data recorded in the black boxes will reveal many facets of the demolition and will immensely help the scientists to further design a more safe and secure implosion to take down any such buildings in the future.

Speaking to OTV, Dalabehera said, "This type of mechanism has never ever been employed anywhere in the world. So it was quite challenging for me."

"Taking the concept from the aviation industry, it took me around nine months to design it from the scratch. Till now we have found two black boxes and the search is on to locate eight more from the rubble," he said.

Similarly, like Dalabehera, Kendrapara's Debiprasanna Kanungo also played a key role in the demolition.

The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee had played a key role by designing and approving the demolition process.

The chief scientist at CBRI, Kanungo, who hails from Chandola village under Derabish block in Kendrapara district, was entrusted to lead his team in the demolition drive.

The tallest towers to be demolished in the country -- Ceyane (29 floors) and Apex (32 floors) -- were part of the Emerald Court project of Supertech Ltd and were found to be in violation of multiple regulations regarding construction.

Demolished via a 'controlled implosion', a lot of preparation had been done to ensure minimal damage to the surroundings.

Joe Brinkmann, CEO and managing director of Jet Demolitions, a South Africa-based firm along with Edifice Engineering and others, brought down the twin towers, which was one of the most difficult tasks since the building was strong and built in a seismic zone.