90.9 WBUR - Boston's NPR news station
Top Stories:
Listen News Programs Schedule
PLEDGE NOW
Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Grid Failures Leave More Than 600 Million Without Power In India

Indian stranded passengers wait for the train services to resume following a power outage at Sealdah station in Kolkata, India, Tuesday. (AP)

Over half of India was left without power this morning when three of the country’s electrical grids failed. This comes after a blackout yesterday which left over 300 million Indians without power. These are now the biggest power grid failures in world history, and together they caused massive traffic jams, stalled hundreds of trains, trapped miners, and stopped crematoriums.

While the government response has been rapid, analysts say the outages show a lack of investment in basic infrastructure. Ironically, even as hundreds of millions wait for power to be restored, 400 million Indians have no access to electricity.

Guest:

Other stories from Tuesday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Guest

    Preview of what could happen here? Hopefully our grid is at least a little better than this. But this also points to the advantages of having decentralized power supplied by underground lines and self-sufficient power.

With Sponsorship from:
Accelerating the pace of engineering and science
Popular Stories
  1. Touré: Why Prince Became An Icon
  2. Longtime Everest Climber Calls Mountain A ‘Powder Keg’
  3. Foam Peanuts Replaced By (Real) Mushrooms
  4. Pastor Finds Son But Loses Two Of His Flock In Tornado
  5. Algorithm Finds Top Programmers, No Resume Required
H&N Favorites
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Touré: Why Prince Became An Icon
1989 photo of singer, musician and entertainer, "Prince." (AP)

Prince is a brilliant musician, a mesmerizing performer and — according to cultural commentator Touré — a Generation X icon. Touré says Prince played a wise older brother to the latchkey kids of Gen X.

7 Comments | more »
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Jersey Shore Readies For Summer Post-Sandy
Construction of a new boardwalk continues on the northern end of Seaside Heights, N.J., Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Mel Evans/AP)

In New Jersey, where Hurricane Sandy killed dozens of people and caused nearly $30 billion in damage, many people are asking: will the shore be open for business?

Comment | more »
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
What It’s Like To Grow Up In Tornado Alley
Two men go through the damage surrounding the Moore Medical Center and damaged vehicals after a tornado moves through Moore, Okla. on Monday, May 20, 2013. (Alonzo Adams/AP)

Kelly Frey, the editor of Oklahoma’s big daily newspaper The Oklahoman, is from El Reno, Okla. and describes what it’s like to grow up in “tornado alley.”

Comment | more »
From Twitter