There was a connection to Odisha in the implosion technique used to destroy the tallest twin structures in Noida.
There was a connection to Odisha in the implosion technique used to destroy the tallest twin structures in Noida. As group leader of the Geo-Hazard Risk Reduction Group (GHRR), Planning & Business Development Group (PBD) of CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee, chief scientist and professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) Debi Prasanna Kanungo, age 55, of Kendrapara, played a significant role in the demolition.
The team leader, Dr. Debi Prasanna Kanungo, senior principal scientist at CBRI, received commendation from the Supreme Court for motivating his team to prioritise research for the report that was delivered to the high court ahead of the deadline.
Kanungo told the media over the phone from Roorkee that the Allahabad High Court had ordered the twin towers to be demolished in April 2014 in response to a petition filed by the Emerald Court Apartment Owners’ Association. The Supreme Court ordered CBRI to carry out the demolition operation on May 22, 2022, under its overall supervision and professional direction, in its order from August 2021.
As the demolition preparation work was ongoing, I stood before the top court on behalf of CBRI and pleaded for the demolition to be postponed until August 2022. The demolition work was delayed until August 28 by the court after taking our advice into account.
The court also gave a one-week buffer (from August 29 to September 4) to provide for any minor delays brought on by weather and technological issues. According to him, “on a war footing, we scanned several demolition businesses across the globe and selected Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering, which also enlisted the aid of South African Jet Demolition company.” According to Kanungo, the demolition was successful as the building came crashing down in 9–10 seconds.
He obtained a BSc in Geology from Dharanidhar College in Keonjhar before pursuing a M Tech in Applied Geology at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee and a PhD in Disaster Management. He has been employed by CBRI as a scientist since 1994.
(Source: Agency)
Prasanta Patnaik