Angry residents block traffic as power crisis worsens in Indian capital

indiamike

<P><B>By RAJESH MAHAPATRA</B><BR><I>Associated Press Writer</I>
<P>NEW DELHI, India (AP): Angry residents blocked traffic and clashed with
police in several parts of the Indian capital as new private electricity
distributors failed to prevent blackouts for a 10th day, police said Thursday.<img border="0" src="http://www.indiamike.com/newsimages/simcitypower.gif" align="left" width="200" height="200" hspace="5" vspace="5">
<P>The worst power crisis in New Delhi for many years began on July 1, just as
the government privatized electricity distribution, turning it over to two of
India's largest companies.
<P>Company representatives told a new conference that it would take about year
to fix the city's rotting power infrastructure.
<P>About a third of New Delhi's capacitors do not work, many transformers have
burned down and some underground cables have not been repaired for more than a
decade.
<P>People in northern and western New Delhi, the worst hit by power outages, put
up blockades and paralyzed traffic for several hours on Wednesday evening, the
police control room said. In one area, residents clashed with police, but there
were no reports of any injuries.
<P>Power cuts of four to eight hours have been reported, but in some have
stretched to 14 hours.
<P>Two to three hours of power outages during the summer season have been normal
in the past in New Delhi, where state-run companies have neglected repairs for
years and employees commonly seek bribes to restore power or install free
connections.
<P>Squatter colonies also tap into the lines, sapping power.
<P>Peak demand for electricity soared on Wednesday to 3,280 megawatts -- the
highest this season -- against a total supply of 2,889 megawatts, the Hindustan
Times newspaper reported.
<P>The problem was worsened because the low voltage caused shutdowns of several
water treatment plants, leaving pipelines in many neighborhoods dry, the paper
reported.
<P>The two private companies, Tata Power Ltd. and BSES Ltd., said they had
immediately increased the number of staff taking complaints and fault reports,
and were investigating why repairs were not being made faster. Both companies
have a good record of distributing power smoothly in India's largest city,
Bombay.
<P>"Overnight, we cannot transform the system. It will take at least about a
year,'' said Ali Engineer, managing director of Tata Power.
<P>The two companies advertised helpline telephone numbers on the front pages of
local newspapers, but residents said they could not get through on the lines
when the power outages turned severe -- the same time as the private firms
assumed control.
<P>Some media and government officials have expressed concern that the cuts
could be due to sabotage by employees of the Delhi Electricity Board, who fear
job loss as private companies take management control of the capital's power
utility.
<P>However, some staff at the electricity board blamed managers brought in by
the private companies, saying they were unfamiliar with the electricity network
in this city of 13 million people.
<P>Transmission and distribution losses, which includes electricity theft, was
as high as 43 per cent in New Delhi last year, according to government figures.
<P><I>AP-TK-11-07-02 1317GMT</I> </P>

Alan D

About 4 years ago in early May we were staying in Delhi when this happened. The temperature had been in the 40's for some days and there was no breeze. Our small hotel in Paharganj didn't have a generator and when the power went off we just lay on our beds sweating profusely. The only relief was to take cold showers. After a day of this we decided to move hotels and finally found a place with an air-cooler which made things more bearable. Walking along the narrow streets of the Paharganj area was none too pleasant either. Every shop had it's generator operating. The noise made conversation difficult and the fumes were adding to the traffic and industrial pollution that was already hanging over the city. It was hell.

The problems are obviously still there -- rising demand because of increase in population, more cash to buy electrical goods and an industry that has had not enough maintainence and investment for years. The fact that quite a large % of the population hook into the supply illegally and steal power is another big problem.

The decision to hand over the Delhi power supply to private companies was probably the only way the problems could be sorted out. They have the capital to invest in the system. I am optomistic that big improvements will be made over the next few years. Since 1996 we have seen noticeable progress in cutting down air pollution and in traffic management. The new Metro should also make a difference. I really believe that Delhi means business and that within 5-10 years they may be close to achieving that slogan you see along the road from the airport.

GREEN DELHI -- CLEAN DELHI

archits

if there is no power in delhi a little longer - maybe they will decongest that city. now , that would really be a blessing.