Northern India hit by one of the worst power breakdowns

July 30, 2012

power

New Delhi, July 30: In what was one of the worst power breakdowns in the country, the Northern Grid crashed early Monday morning plunging eight states into complete darkness, disrupting inter-state train services, adversely hitting health services and impacting millions of lives.

The tripping of the 400 KV Bina-Gwalior line, which flows into Agra-Bareilly at 2.35 a.m. wreaked havoc on the power generation and transmission systems leading to shut down of all major power plants including hydro power stations in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which are all a part of the Northern Grid.

The immediate impact of the grid collapse was the shortage of around 32,000 MW of power. The last such collapse of the Northern Grid, which caters to around 28 per cent of the country’s population, took place in 2001. India currently faces around 8 to 12 per cent peak power deficit, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

The massive shutdown had a crippling effect on inter-state passenger and goods trains that came to a screeching halt. Early morning office goers and school children had a harrowing time as traffic signals went on the blink leading to traffic chaos in the affected States including the Capital Delhi.

Hospitals too had to scurry around for alternatives and back up supply. A majority of the hospitals claimed to have alternate supply arrangements, yet reports of services being disrupted trickled in from several places.

Operations at the major oil refineries in Panipat, Mathura and Bhatinda remained unaffected as these facilities have their own captive power plants and do not rely on the grid for supply.

While Power Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde said he could not pin point the exact reason for the collapse, PGCIL and Northern Region Load Despatch Centre officials said that it was rampant overdrawal by Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana that led to the collapse that in turn paralysed services.

The last time the grid collapse occurred was in 2001, it has happened now after 10 years. At that time, the power breakdown took place at midnight and normalcy was restored by 4.30 pm.

PGCIL chairman and managing director, R.N. Nayak said the situation had been restored to normal by 4 pm. The Northern grid was generating around 29000 MW of power by late evening, which was about 2000 MW of the peak demand.

Hit by the sudden collapse of the grid system, the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) officials swung into action with Mr. Nayak and his team of officials reaching their monitoring centre at 3 a.m. to assess the situation and work on a rescue package. By 8 a.m., PGCIL officials claimed to have restored around 40 per cent of power.

To run essential services, supply was diverted from the Western and Eastern Grids to the Northern region. Hydro power was also imported from the mountain kingdom of Bhutan to meet the deficit.

While he could not offer an explanation on what caused the collapse, Mr. Nayak said the agencies involved were at least “quick at restoring normalcy in a record time”.

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News Network
February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: The father of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, whose body was pulled out of a drain in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh, complained to police that goons had assembled at the residence of former AAP counselor Tahir Hussain and were throwing petrol bombs from the rooftop.

According to the FIR which was registered on Thursday on the basis of the complaint lodged by Ankit's father Ravinder, the goons were also firing from the rooftop.

On Tuesday, Ankit returned from his office at 5 pm and then went outside to buy groceries. When he did not return, the family started looking for him and later filed a missing report, the FIR stated.

They got to know from their neighbours that a body has been recovered from a drain… later it was found to be that of Anikt, it said, adding the body had multiple stab injuries on the face, head, back, and chest.

The family has alleged in the FIR that it was Hussain and the goons at his residence who killed Ankit. In the FIR, Hussain has been accused of murder, destruction of evidence and abduction.

Soon after the FIR was registered on Thursday, the AAP suspended Tahir Hussain from the primary membership of the party till the police completed its probe.

The death toll in Delhi's communal violence rose to 42 on Friday as the situation showed some signs of returning to normalcy and clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in over three decades.

A total of 148 FIRs have been registered and 630 people have been either arrested or detained so far in connection with the communal violence, a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights will continue till midnight on June 30, hours after the Home Ministry announced fresh guidelines pertaining to the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is once again reiterated that foreign airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations to or from India in due course," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

Domestic passenger flight services resumed in the country from Monday after a hiatus of two months since the lockdown was announced on March 25, when all scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India. International flights continue to remain suspended even now.

The Home Ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown effectuated on March 25 will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the country's worst pandemic-hit areas.

International air travel shall remain suspended, the MHA order said, adding that a decision on when to resume it would be taken after making an assessment of the situation.

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News Network
April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of COVID-19 lockdown till May 3, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued consolidated revised guidelines on measures to be taken by Ministries and Departments of Government of India, state and Union Territory governments and authorities for the containment of COVID-19.

As per the guidelines, all domestic and international air travel of passengers (except for security purposes), passenger movement by trains (except for security purposes), buses for public transport, metro rail services will remain prohibited.

It stated that all educational, training, coaching institutions etc. shall remain closed. Inter-district and inter-state movement of individuals except for medical reasons or for activities permitted under guidelines shall remain prohibited.

Taxis (including auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws) and services of cab aggregators to remain prohibited until May 3.

Also, all cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places shall remain closed.

All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural/religious functions/other gatherings will also not be allowed.

"All religious places or places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited. In the case of funerals, a congregation of more than 20 persons will not be permitted," the guidelines stated.

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