Possible sabotage in Mumbai power break down cannot be ruled out, says Power Min Dr Nitin Raut

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Maharashtra government Power minister Dr Nitin Raut on Wednesday made a startling claim arguing that sabotage angle in the “islanding” of power that happened in Mumbai on the October 12 cannot be ruled out. It may be recalled that Mumbai and adjoining areas in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) suffered a power blackout for more than three hours bringing all economic and other activities to a grinding halt.

Talking to the media, State Power Minister, Dr Nitin Raut disclosed that when the load was shifted from circuit 1 to circuit 2, there was a massive breakdown which led to a power outage in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar. 

A meeting to discuss the power failure issue has been convened by the government today. He said in the meeting, the discussion will take place on the report which was submitted by the inquiry committee when a similar incident took place in the year 2011. 

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“There was an Action Taken Report (ATR) that was drafted by the study group after a similar incident that had happened in 2011 will be discussed at the meeting. What action was taken after that by the department will also be debated,” Raut said. 

He said, the incident that happened on October 12 was not a minor one and hence the angle of sabotage cannot be ruled out. 

“There is a suspicion that there was a possibility of sabotage. The islanding should not have happened,’ he added.  “Action will be taken against the culprit,” he added.

Without naming any individual, Dr Raut alleged that some people are deliberately trying to malign the image of the State power department. 

Following the rare citywide power outage that crippled Mumbai on October 12, that halted lifeline of Mumbai– suburban train services, trapping people in lifts and disrupting work from home adopted by millions during the ongoing pandemic, the state power minister had announced that a four-member inquiry committee has been set up with a mandate to examine causes of a major power failure and to find out if it was caused due to negligence. The committee will also find out why only 50 per cent repair of GIS system was done. 

The panel is expected to submit its report within a week. The minister said the MahaTransco has been directed to conduct root cause analysis and a technical audit of the transmission systems in the state and to strengthen the repair and maintenance protocol.

Meanwhile, a team of central officers led by CEA under Power Ministry is in Mumbai to identify the problem and assist the state government in finding possible solutions against such breakdown.