The state of the Union

Delhi is a funny place. No one living there could imagine that it was the capital of India. The city from where the big bosses governed the world largest democracy.
Why I say this? Here is an excerpt from an article in Times of India…

“The crisis seems to be man-made, although it can’t be directly attributed to the city utilities. According to the DJB, its supplies have been affected by power cuts at the main water treatment plants during peak hours. As a result, the plants can’t pump out treated water in time, if at all. Even a 15-minute power cut, said DJB officers, resulted in a 45-minute idle time for these huge plants that take time to rouse themselves to full pumping power after an electricity cut.”

What fun, the main pumping plants taking 45 minutes to reach full capacity after a 15 minute power cut.

Another excerpt from the same article…

“Given the situation, the state-owned Transco has thrown up its hands. ‘‘We are helpless,’’ said a Transco spokesman. And the two discoms — BSES and NDPL — smarting under the recent public outcry against a tariff hike, have turned visibly nervous, lest they are held responsible for the city’s water shortage too. This nervousness is expected to ensure power supply to the pumps and, in turn, better water supply to residents.”

I was laughing out loud on this one for a long time! To make the basic amenities work for you, you need to make the companies responsible ‘nervous’. It is like we are living in a people’s dictatorship! People get together and bully the big boys into providing them with the basics of life – water and electricity.

Another excerpt…
“While discoms seem to have been callous in not ensuring power to the pumps, they have had an acute power supply problem in the last few days. As many as seven power stations supplying power to the northern grid have been shut, creating a big power crisis in the region. These include three in Delhi — Rajghat, Badarpur and IP — Singrauli, Auraiya, Rihand and Nathpa Jakhri.”

Now the logical question to ask is that why were seven main power plants plugging into the Northern Grid no less, shut down at the same time?