Two 100-metre-high residential towers collapsed with a loud thud into a huge cloud of dust in Delhi’s satellite city Noida on Sunday, marking a rare legal victory against illegal construction by India's big developers.
The Apex and Ceyane buildings, commonly called the "Twin Towers", crumbled in less than 10 seconds as 3,700 kilograms of explosives were detonated to carry out the Supreme Court's demolition order.
The developer Supertech began constructing the towers inside an existing housing complex more than a decade ago. However, it was forced to stop work in 2011 when residents of the area filed a lawsuit claiming the buildings breached municipal laws.
Hundreds of people had gathered to witness the demolition in Noida, about 25 kilometres south-east of New Delhi, as police struggled to keep onlookers outside a 500-metre, cordoned-off safety zone.
The crowd cheered and booed as a massive explosion shook the ground and the towers came down crashing at 2.30pm local time.
Ram Bir, 36, said he came from nearby Greater Noida city to witness the “historic” demolition, but also questioned how they were built in the first place.
We are here to see how these huge buildings will crash down but I am curious how these towers could be erected if they were illegal
Ram Bir,
resident of Greater Noida
"We are here to see how these huge buildings will crash down, but I am curious how these towers could be erected if they were illegal. What was the government doing?” he told The National.
People also watched from the balconies and terraces of buildings and other vantage points.
"This is the first time I have seen something like this. I was both scared and excited," said Siraj Ansari, who witnessed the demolition from a nearby bridge.
The demolition was carried out after authorities evacuated nearly 7,000 residents from nearby buildings and posted hundreds of police and emergency workers in the area.
Stray animals were also removed, and the area was declared a no-fly zone for 30 minutes during the demolition.
Buildings around the Twin Towers were covered with geotextile fabric to protect them from damage.
Officials said the demolition left nearly 60,000 tonnes of concrete debris and a cloud of dust 60 storeys high.
More than 100 water tankers and smog guns were used to control the dust and air pollution.
Some of the debris will be used to fill in the basements of the towers.
The demolition was carried out with about 3,700kg of explosives packed into about 10,000 holes drilled into the buildings.
The final checks began at noon on Sunday, before the explosives were charged for detonation.
Utkarsh Mehta, chief executive of Edifice Engineering, the company that carried out the demolition, said it would be "like a waterfall, so that it will slowly and steadily will come down to the ground and the impact and vibration would be reduced”.
Some media reports said the demolition had partially failed as parts of the towers did not fall as planned and landed next to a residential complex.
Officials said residents were to be allowed back into their homes later on Sunday after engineers assessed the situation and defused any leftover explosives.
The demolition is one of the biggest carried out so far in a country that has a chronic problem of illegal construction.
Four luxury high-rise apartments were demolished with explosives in the southern Kerala state in 2020 after they were found to be built in an environmentally sensitive zone.
Illegal structures
Construction on the Twin Towers was halted in 2011 after a legal challenge by residents of the housing complex where they were being built.
The residents said the buildings breached the site plan because the land had been earmarked for a garden, and complained that they also blocked air and sunlight to hundreds of existing dwellings.
The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh ordered their demolition in 2014, a ruling that was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2021.
Court documents showed that Supertech, which also built the existing residential complex, had colluded with authorities to construct the towers.
In a statement released shortly before the demolition, Supertech said the towers had received proper permissions but were ordered demolished on technical grounds.
"The building plans of the project including the two towers were approved by the Noida Authority in 2009, which was strictly in accordance with the-then prevailing Building Bye-laws announced by the State Government," the company said.
The Supreme Court has ordered the developer to refund payments from buyers of homes in the towers, together with 12 per cent interest. The developer must also pay 20 million rupees (about $250,000) to the residents’ welfare association of the housing complex.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Company%20Profile
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
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Welterweight
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Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Company%20profile
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
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Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Company%20Profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
