It came crashing down in seconds asthe clock struck 11.18 am on Saturday, January 11. H20 Holy Faith is the firstof the four apartment complexes in Kochi's Maradu Municipality that wasdemolished on Saturday, as per an order by the Supreme Court last year, forviolating environmental norms. The second apartment complex – the twin towers ofAlfa Serene – will be demolished in a few minutes.

Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering demolished H2O Holy Faith, which had 91 apartments and 19 floors. The agency employed the controlled implosion method to bring down the building and ensure the debris fall inward, without spilling over to the waterbody near them. The main reason why the building – and three other apartment complexes – were ordered to be demolished is that they were built too close to the Vembanad Lake, and could affect the environment. Therefore the process of demolition had to take this into account before the building was brought down.

The demolitions have raised the curiosity of people for two reasons: firstly, it's a rare moment in India where luxury residential complexes have been demolished. Secondly, people are curious to know how the controlled implosion of such tall buildings works.