Dark Age: Life thrown out of gear in ‘powerless’ Raj

Dark Age: Life thrown out of gear in ‘powerless’ Raj

Much like other states in North India, life in the desert state too was thrown out of gear due to the power failure following a breakdown in the Northern Grid in the wee hours of Monday.

By evening, power was restored in most parts of the state. However, a few rural areas still remained in darkness till late evening.

The production came to a standstill as the supply from the Northern Grid collapsed, following which the entire state was plunged into darkness at 2.35 am, except the areas covered under the Jhalore-Sirohi line.

By early morning, the supply was restored in the western region by drawing power from the Western Grid. The production at the six power generating units in Kota, four at Suratgarh and one at Chhabra was restored later in the day.

The power failure affected the routine of the common man who had to brave long queues at the railway station, airport and bus counters, besides the hot and humid conditions.

The water supply was also disrupted at most places, including hospitals where patients and staff had a harrowing time.

At the Jaipur railway station, long queues were seen outside the ticket counters as the computer systems worked slow due to power failure, said a railway official. However, power supply was not snapped at the platforms.

Passengers had a trying time at bus depots where ticket counters were almost 'non-operational' as computers did not work.

The power failure also exposed the poor back-up at government hospitals in the city. Kanwatia Hospital was plunged into darkness for an hour before a generator was pressed into service.

To meet the demand, the state government also purchased 600MW wind power. Attempts were made to ensure that remaining power generating units in the state, which were closed either for maintenance or technical faults, could become operational by late Monday.

As the Northern region suffered one of the worst power failures ever, indiscipline of a few states that were frequently overdrawing power from the Northern Grid, was seen as one of the reasons for the crisis.

On Monday, Rajasthan along with states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh continued to overdraw power from the grid. While the state's share is 4837 MW, on Monday evening it was drawing 5162 MW power from the grid.

"There was a fault in the 400 KV power line on the Agra-Gwalior line and overdrawing of power should not be considered the reason for the grid failure. All power generating units in the state, except for two which are closed for annual maintenance, have been restored or would be soon,'' said C S Chandeliya, director, Power Trading.