Hindu
Power failure leaves Governor in the dark

Ananya Dutta

KOLKATA: A power cut on Monday at a function where West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi was present caused inconvenience to the organisers.

“The Governor was interrupted just as he was about to begin his speech by an unscheduled power cut and the entire programme had to be conducted in the dark,” said L.N. Roy, chairman of the museum committee of the Rammohan Roy Museum.

Mr. Gandhi was attending the release of an audio CD of songs written and composed by the 19th century social reformer and visionary, Raja Rammohan Roy. He was later given a tour of the museum.

Mr. Roy said the museum had informed the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC), the privately owned enterprise that distributes power to the city, about the function and the Governor’s visit. “We were assured that there would be no power cuts and an emergency line had also been provided to us, so we didn’t bother to rent a generator,” he said.

The CESC regretted the incident but claimed that a sudden shortage had resulted in the temporary disruption of power. “There was a 15 minute power cut by rotation all over Kolkata to meet a 50 megawatt deficit. Unfortunately the time coincided with the Governor’s visit to that locality,” said Pradeep Gupta, senior manager, public relations at the CESC.

Mr. Roy, however, said the power cut had lasted nearly 45 minutes.

The Governor, however, appeared unfazed. A source at the Raj Bhavan said that a two-hour blackout at the Governor’s residence was observed everyday since May 7, 2008, as “a voluntary gesture to share in the sufferings of the people in times of a power crisis