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How Delhi cut electricity loss from 50 to 5 percent

592 points · 336 comments · rbanffy

  1. motionlessveloc · · focus · HN ↗
    I wonder how many HNers recall life in Delhi even 20 years ago? Cutting electricity loss is one thing, but getting rid of "load shedding" (unplanned power cuts) is the really revolutionary part. It was not uncommon for the power to go out several times a day and you had to rush to unplug expensive appliances (TV, laptop), because when the power came back it was often accompanied by a surge. My office was wired with two sets of electrical sockets, one connected to grid mains and the other connected to the UPS (for important equipment only).
    1. Gangway0829 · · focus · HN ↗
      Do you remember the scheduled water cuts? We would stockpile water in buckets so we could flush the toilets. Good old days!
      1. shrikant · · focus · HN ↗
        I remember the inverse of that in Chennai -- scheduled running water for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evenings when we had to stockpile water in every container possible.
        1. parthdesai · · focus · HN ↗
          It's so weird reading these comments, we didn't have either of these issues in Gujarat in early 2000s (left India in mid 2000s).
          1. saonnet · · focus · HN ↗
            Modi hai to mumkin hai!
            1. parthdesai · · focus · HN ↗
              I mean that was one of the reasons why he got re-elected twice in Gujarat. It's a shame what that party has devolved to now
              1. blackoil · · focus · HN ↗
                one of. other is he killed Muslims.
                1. qwerty_sideshow · · focus · HN ↗
                  Let’s not lie now.

                  IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt alleged that at a meeting on the night of February 27, 2002, Modi told senior police that Hindus should be allowed to "vent their anger." Another officer, R.B. Sreekumar, said he was denied a promotion for criticizing the government's inaction

                  1. mlmonkey · · focus · HN ↗
                    Please don't throw around accusations like this; especially after creating a temporary account.

                    I was an adult in 2002. I remember the riots differently. (And, BTW: riots were almost an annual occurrence in some part or the other of the country, like clockwork. Moradabad, Aligarh, Bareilly, etc. etc.)

                    The SOP when riots happen is to call in the Army to do a "flag march", after a couple of days.

                    But guess what happened just a few months before the Gujarat riots? The attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 [1]. As a result, the Army was deployed on the borders and could not be pulled to do flag marches. The Gijarat govt wrote to all neighboring states (MP, MH, RJ) to ask if some police could be spared to help stop the riots. All 3 state governments replied "no, we don't have any police to spare". What else could the government do?

                    From 2004 thtough 2014, several different teams investigated Gujarat government's actions, and in the end gave them a clean chit.

                    [1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2001_Indian_Parliament_attack" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2001_Indian_Parliament_attack

                    1. selimthegrim · · focus · HN ↗
                      Supreme Court expressly did not give Modi a clean chit
                      1. mlmonkey · · focus · HN ↗
                        <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thenewsminute.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;gujarat-riots-supreme-court-upholds-clean-chit-given-sit-narendra-modi-165236" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thenewsminute.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;gujarat-riots-supreme-cou...
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