Indians see demolition as sign of progress

NEW DELHI－The demolition of two towers near New Delhi found to have been shoddily built has been welcomed in India as conveying a stern message to construction companies violating the law.

A court had ordered the demolition of the buildings－in a twin-tower complex－after complaints about construction standards.

The towers, which had stood at nearly 100 meters high in the city of Noida, had belonged to property company Supertech.

Hailing the demolition on Sunday, Forum for People's Collective Efforts President Abhay Upadhyay said that it was a "huge victory" for the apartment owners, The Tribune newspaper reported.

Harsh Vardhan Patodia, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India, was quoted in media as saying that the decision to bring down the towers is "symbolic of the New India that we are living in". "We stand by the authorities and Supreme Court in this decision," he said.

He said most developers adhered to the guidelines and the action ordered by the court will act as a warning to substandard developers.

Dhruv Agarwala, chief executive of REA India, said: "This will set a good precedent for the housing sector. It will serve as a deterrent for developers who may be considering violating building norms and laws."

Supertech Chairman R.K. Arora said that his company had lost about nearly 5 billion Indian rupees ($62.6 million) because of the Noida demolition.

Following complaints about illegalities with the twin towers' construction, the Supreme Court of India had last year ordered their demolition.

Reports of illegal work in the construction industry are rife in India. Many believe property developers are too close to local authorities.

More than 3.7 metric tons of explosives were used in the demolition. No damage was reported at nearby apartment buildings.

"It would come in the top five demolitions in the world in terms of height, volume, steel and tightness of the structure," said Utkarsh Mehta, a partner with Edifice Engineering, which brought down the buildings in collaboration with Jet Demolition from South Africa at a cost of 180 million rupees.

Experts used the so-called waterfall method of demolition in which one story collapses on the next.

Xinhua - Agencies