Blackout hits more than 300 million in India_美文

Blackout hits more than 300 million in India

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Grid failure left more than 300 million people without power in New Delhi and much of northern India for hours on Monday in the worst blackout for more than a decade, while a fire killed at least 32 sleeping passengers on an express train to a southern Indian city.

The grid failure lights in Delhi and seven states went out in the early hours, leaving the capital's workers sweltering overnight and then stranded at metro stations in the morning rush hour as trains were cancelled.

Electricity supplies were restored to Delhi and much of Uttar Pradesh, a state with more people than Brazil, by midday. But the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and India-controlled Kashmir were still without full power in the early evening.

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said all power would be restored within hours.

Power shortages and a creaky road and rail network have weighed heavily on the country's efforts to industrialize. Grappling with the slowest economic growth in nine years, Delhi recently scaled back a target to pump $1 trillion into infrastructure over the next five years.

Major industries have dedicated power plants or large diesel generators and are shielded from outages - but the inconsistent supply affects investment and disrupts small businesses. Office blocks, hotels and large apartment buildings all use backup diesel generators.

Chaos reigned on Delhi's always-hectic roads on Monday as stoplights failed and thousands of commuters abandoned the metro. Water pumping stations ran dry.