Surat: The 30-year-old cooling tower of Utran Power House in Surat, will be demolished with a controlled blast at 11 a.m. on March 21st.

The RCC cooling tower is 85 meters high and 70 meters wide. The cooling tower will be demolished with a control blasting implosion technique using 250 kg of dynamite on March 21 from 11 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

The dust will spread in the surrounding 100-meter area due to the demolition. The warning is issued to the people residing in the surrounding 2 to 3 km2 area. The fire brigade and administration team will be present during the demolition.

Due to the controlled blast, the cooling tower of the Utran powerhouse will be destroyed within 7 seconds. Two plants of 375 megawatts and 135 megawatts operate in the Utran powerhouse. The 135-megawatt plant is old and is supposed to be demolished as per the central government’s guidelines. The entire demolition process is likely to be 30 to 40 minutes long. However, the blasting time will be 7 seconds.

The state government had started construction of the gas-based power plant in 1991. Gujarat State Electricity Corporation produced gas-based electricity through the 135-megawatt power plant until 1998. The electricity production was stopped later due to a gas shortage. The plant was declared scrap in 2017. DeshGujarat