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Power failure: Blame game, probe begin as grids restored

August 1, 2012

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New Delhi, August 1: Three electricity grids connecting more than 20 states and the national capital collapsed on Tuesday, triggering what is now being called the country's worst power crisis, and what's worse, it was the second in two days.

Even as the Power Ministry scrambles to restore normalcy, inquiry has begun over what caused it.

Sources say that the trouble started in the Eastern Grid this time. The optimal transmission frequency for any grid is 48 hertz, but the number dropped to 47.50 in the Eastern Grid and 47.69 in the Northern Grid.

While no specific region has been named so far for the overdrawing of power, the Centre has blamed four states - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.

Meanwhile, there is uproar over Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's promotion to Home Ministry on a day half of the country suffered a total blackout.

The Opposition has even questioned if this promotion was a reward for his loyalty to the Gandhi family.

Life thrown out of gear

The blackout in 20 states across north, eastern and north-eastern India affected more than 60 crore people and severely impacted train services in six railway zones, bringing 300 trains to halt.

The worst sufferers were 265 miners who got trapped in coal mines in West Bengal and Jharkhand due to the power outage. They were evacuated after hours of agony.

In the national capital, thousands of Metro commuters had a harrowing time when the trains stopped inside the tunnels as transmission lines tripped at 1 pm. The power collapse triggered disruption in Metro and train services, crippled water supply and choked roads due to non-functional traffic lights.

States that got affected

Northern Grid states: Delhi, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand.

Eastern Grid states: West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar

North East Grid states: Sikkim, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunanchal Pradesh.

Blame game begins

For the first time, the three inter-state transmission networks - Northern Grid, Eastern Grid and North-Eastern Grid - tripped together.

Speaking to mediapersons about the crisis, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who shifted from the Power Ministry to the Home Ministry on Tuesday, put the blame of the grid failure on the states that have been over drawing power. He said, "We had warned several states about overdrawing of power. So we had to face second grid failure in less than 24 hours."

He also warned the states against overdrawing electricity above their limits, saying, "If states overdraw from their regular quota, they will be penalised."

Earlier, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd chairman RK Nayak said that the problem was difficult to be located because of a complex network.

He further said that some sections are creating problems due to over drawing of power, but the glitch would be plugged by night.

Nayak, however, said he could not give any assurance without analysing all the details.

The blackout also gave an opportunity to the Opposition to hit out at the government over its failure to prevent the power crisis.

Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi posted a tweet saying, "Pradhan Mantri ji, 60 crore people and 19 states are in darkness. Country wants to know is there any coalition dharma you are following here too?"

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News Network
March 24,2020

Ahmedabad, Mar 24: The Gujarat police has detained 426 people in the last 24 hours for violating lockdown rules in force in the state to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said on Tuesday.

They include those who came out despite being advised home quarantine, state Director General of Police Shivanand Jha said.

"The lockdown met with around 90 per cent success. We are taking strict measures to implement the lockdown in the remaining 10-15 per cent areas. We have lodged 238 cases related to the violation of police notification and 127 cases related to quarantine rule violation. In all, we have detained 426 persons across the state," Jha told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"For better implementation of the lockdown and to address issues concerning people, we have set up a dedicated 24-hour control room and appointed two additional DGP rank officers to supervise operations. Three teams under them would work to resolve issues across the state," said Jha.

He said police commissioners and districts SPs have been asked to enforce the lockdown in an effective manner.

Essential services like vegetable and milk shops are allowed to remain open, he said, and asked people not to flock in large numbers to such shops.

The state has so far reported 33 COVID-19 cases, and one person has died of the infection.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6 : With a single-day spike of 56,282 new COVID-19 cases and 904 deaths in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 19,64,537 on Thursday.

With the increase of 904 deaths, the toll due to the disease now stands at 40,699 in the country, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The COVID-19 count includes 5,95,501 active cases and 13,28,337 cured/discharged/migrated patients.

Meanwhile, as per the MoHFW, the percentage of discharged patients stands at 67.62, while the active cases are at 30.31 in the country as of today.

The deaths reported due to the infection are currently at a little above two per cent of the total confirmed cases in the country.

Maharashtra with 1,46,268 active cases and 3,05,521 cured and discharged patients continues to be the worst affected. The state has also reported 16,476 deaths due to the infection.

Tamil Nadu has 54,184 active cases while 2,14,815 patients have been discharged after treatment in the state. 4,461 deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh with 80,426 active cases is the third on the list. There are 1,04,354 cured and discharged patients and 1,681 deaths reported from the state.

The national capital's active cases tally once again crossed the 10-thousand mark with 175 new cases being reported. Delhi now has 10,072 active cases and 1,26,116 cured and discharged patients. 4,044 people have lost their lives due to the disease in the Union Territory so far.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his wife Mahzabeen have tested positive for COVID-19, a top government source told CNN News 18. They were admitted to the Army Hospital in Karachi.

Some of Dawood's personal staff and guards have also been quarantined, the report said on Friday.

Dawood was the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts and is one of the most-wanted gangsters by India. He has allegedly been living in Pakistan but the neighbouring country has always refusing to accept it.

Earlier in the day, a senior diplomat of the American embassy in Pakistan has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a media report said.

In a statement, the embassy's spokesman said that while maintaining the privacy, the name of the citizen would not be disclosed.

The US State Department is responsible to protect its citizens, wherever they are, the spokesman added. In coordination with the Pakistani authorities, the consulate is working to enforce the coronavirus protocol in order to stem its spread. The spokesman added that isolation wards, contact tracing and quarantine facility are part of such protocols.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has 89,249 COVID-19 cases and the death toll is 1,838.

 

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