As the mega-demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida ended in success on Sunday, 28 August, Edifice Engineering partner Utkarsh Mehta hailed Joe Brinkman of South African firm Jet Demolitions as the "mastermind" of the implosion.
Every single one of the 9,462 holes drilled into the twin towers, their purpose, location, and size, down to the millimetre, was reportedly decided by Brinkman (62).
The team's first priority was to ensure that there were no injuries to people during the razing process and no structural damage caused to any of the buildings around, Brinkman said.
"Thank you lord" was his first reaction after the plan was executed neatly, he said. "It was an intense day. Emotions were high. There was a lot of mental and physical effort," he told Hindustan Times after the implosion.
The Indo-African Partnership
Mehta-led Edifice Engineering, which had been tasked with the demolition of the illegally built towers, had selected Jet Demolitions as its expert partner for the job. The two had together previously demolished four residential complexes in the Maradu municipal area of Kochi, Kerala, in a similar fashion.
In November 2019, Jet Demolitions had grounded the 108-metre-tall Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg within a few seconds while ensuring that a structure barely seven metres next to it was safe too.
“India and Edifice have now joined the 100-metre club of countries which have buildings over this height that have been demolished and that too with residential buildings standing so close to them, making the project extremely challenging," Brinkman stated.
The South African national had established Jet Demolition in 1994. "Joe ‘s Masters Degree in Mining Engineering, obtained in 1982 from the University of Missouri-Rolla, USA, kick-started his life-long interest in explosives and their various applications," as per a description of him on Jet's website.
After developing a patented range of shaped-charge explosives, Brinkman pursued his passion for demolition and became the managing director of the demolition company. He also leads Jet's engineering team.
Jigar Chheda & Utkarsh Mehta, Partners at Edifice Engineering
Jigar Chheda, a partner at Edifice engineering, said that they took six months to plan the clean execution of the demolition and the whole exercise was a “very challenging” process.
“Days and nights went into the preparation for this day. Over 9,000 holes were drilled for explosives in the two buildings; they had to be most accurate and all this was challenging,” Chheda told PTI.
He added that the principal issues in the project had included taking permission from the concerned authorities, coordinating with various agencies involved in the project, and assuring the residents of their safety.
Edifice Partner Utkarsh Mehta who studied mechanical engineering and then went on to pursue a post-graduation in foreign trade, said, “We will have to coordinate with the Emerald Court and ATS Village societies for the disposal since the debris would have to be first processed at the site only and then it would be taken to the construction and demolition waste processing centres. Coordination would be needed for fixing the timing for work at the site to cause the least disturbance to residents."
Mehta has been serving in Edifice's top position since 2012.
Chetan Dutta, the Man Who Pressed the Button
Chetan Dutta, a blasting expert who runs a company called Chetan Enterprises, is the man who pressed the button triggering the activation of 3,700 kg explosives that brought down the twin buildings.
“Edifice Engineering contacted me in March. In July, Mr Utkarsh Mehta told me to get ready, and I sent 10 of my men to the demolition site for charging the twin towers. Once the Supreme Court gave the clearance in August, my boys began charging the building with explosives,” Dutta told The Indian Express.
Mayur Mehta, the Manager of the Project
Mayur Mehta, the project manager of the Supertech demolition, told HT, “We have one of the best teams in the world working on this project. They work hard and play harder."
All on-site work and preparations were mainly handled by Mehta, who is a B.Com graduate from Mumbai University, and has been working with Edifice Engineering for over a decade.
(With inputs from PTI, Hindustan Times, and The Indian Express.)
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