Generators save the day in hospitals
1 Aug 2012 7:52 AM IST
On Tuesday, power failure forced hospitals to buy huge quantities of diesel for their generators, as city faced the disastrous disruption and some emergency generators in hospitals failed to kick in leaving, care units, children and patients in dark.
Along with patients, the new-born babies also had to reel under the power crisis as incubators failed to function in super-speciality paediatric hospitals.
The OPD in hospitals were also found to be in a chaos. Many surgeries were delayed and postponed because of the poor power backup .
 Sources said the unavailability of diesel during the peak hours affected power backup in hospitals such as Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital and Guru Teg Bahadur hospital in east and north-east Delhi.
Many major hospitals, however, claimed patient care remained unaffected. According to authorities in central and Delhi Government hospitals here, there was no complaint of any hindrance in patient care following the power supply failure that crippled the city for sometime.
‘I have checked with major hospitals and they have confirmed that they have good back-up to deliver services,’ Anshu Prakash, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Delhi government, said.
He said, ‘Delhi hospitals have diesel back up. These are pressed into operation in case of power failure. Sufficient diesek stocks are available. There is no reason to panic. ‘Services in critical areas such as operation theatres and emergency departments are not effected. Even in wards lighting arrangement and fans are functioning.’
Authorities in hospitals such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdarjung hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College amongst others spoke of back-up systems being in operation.
‘We have generator back up for all units. All surgeries in the operation theatres are continuing and will go on smoothly,’ D K Sharma, Medical Superintendent, AIIMS, said.
Satyanarayan Makhwana, spokesperson, Safdarjung hospital said, ‘We have generator back-up set up by CPWD in all hospitals. Patient care has not been affected in this hospital.’
Delhi and various other areas in neighbouring states faced a power cut for the second successive day today as the Northern Grid failed again. Officials said the grid failed at around 1.30 pm.
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ESSENTIAL SERVICES HIT FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY
Entire Delhi went without power for the second successive day today as the Northern Grid tripped again, crippling various essential services such as Metro rail, trains and water distribution system in the city. Top Delhi Government officials said the situation became complex compared to Monday with tripping of the Eastern Grid also and it may take a couple of hours to restore supply to the essential services.
The officials said the Northern Grid failed at around 1.30 pm when the national capital had a demand of around 4,300 MW. Only 38 MW was being supplied around 1.45 pm.
A Power department official said various power generation plants running on hydel, coal and gas had to shut operations due to the tripping of the grid.
‘Due to the Northern Grid failure, all trains services have been suspended. Trains are being brought to the nearest station for evacuation,’ a Metro station official said.
An airport spokesperson said all essential services were shifted to the diesel generating back-up system. Traffic signals went blank in the city leading to traffic chaos in the entire city. Train services and functioning of various hospitals have also been affected due to the outages.
The water distribution system was another casualty of the power cut as functioning of all major water treatment plants across the city came to a halt. A Delhi Jal Board official said operations at six water treatment plants in the city have been seriously affected due to outages.
Delhi went without power for about eight hours on Monday following collapse of the grid which affected almost all the essential services. Officials said Power Minister Harun Yusuf is constantly monitoring the situation and officials are in touch with the Union Power Ministry and Power Grid Corporation, which maintains the Northern Grid.
Government had accused Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab for overdrawing power from the Northern Grid saying it led to its collapse, and urged the Union Power Minister to direct the states to follow discipline.
CITY STOPS AS TRAFFIC SIGNALS GO BLANK
Traffic was thrown out of gear in the capital this afternoon when signals went blank following power failure across north India.
Huge traffic jams were reported from various parts of the capital, including Connaught Place, ITO, Ashoka Road, India Gate and Laxmi Nagar.
‘Due to grid failure for the second time since yesterday, the city is without electricity in most of the areas. Traffic signals are not functioning due to power failure. We are trying to manage traffic with the help of police personnel. This slows down traffic,’ Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said.
Commuters were put to hardship as bus services were hit due to traffic jams. Auto drivers also refused to take passengers because of the traffic chaos. Â
Metro commuters spilled onto the roads in large numbers, choking traffic movement across the city. They collected near bus stands outside the Metro stations slowing down the traffic. Buses, following the unexpected surge, were unable to accommodate commuters creating chaos all around.
Almost all parts of Delhi reported to be choked during the peak breakdown period between 1-3 pm. Vikas Marg, the main arterial road of trans-Yamuna, was choked so was the Ring Road.
Connaught place, both inner and outer circle, south Delhi’s Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, the BRT corridor, Outer Ring road and several other arterial and colony roads faced jam or traffic moved at snail’s pace. Besides this, west and north Delhi’s Janakpuri, Rajouri Garden, Nangloi, Maurice Nagar, Jahangir Puri and Model Town areas were also affected due to Metro coming to a halt.
Several kilometre long jam could be seen on Ring Road near Raj Ghat as road caved at Nigambodh Ghat. The traffic flow could become normal only after 2.30 pm, said a traffic cop standing near Rajghat.
In New Delhi, near Talkatora stadium, Shankar Road, Jhandelwalan, RML roundabout and outer Delhi’s Rohini faced traffic jam during the time Metro remained out of service. Defunct traffic signals and blinkers in the morning and afternoon due to rainfall and failure of power supply added to the problem. ‘By 3.15 pm, the normal traffic was restored on roads,’ stated Garg. ‘A sudden rush came on the roads that led to traffic jams,’ said Garg when contacted. By afternoon, a semblance of normalcy was restored in most areas.
Along with patients, the new-born babies also had to reel under the power crisis as incubators failed to function in super-speciality paediatric hospitals.
The OPD in hospitals were also found to be in a chaos. Many surgeries were delayed and postponed because of the poor power backup .
 Sources said the unavailability of diesel during the peak hours affected power backup in hospitals such as Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital and Guru Teg Bahadur hospital in east and north-east Delhi.
Many major hospitals, however, claimed patient care remained unaffected. According to authorities in central and Delhi Government hospitals here, there was no complaint of any hindrance in patient care following the power supply failure that crippled the city for sometime.
‘I have checked with major hospitals and they have confirmed that they have good back-up to deliver services,’ Anshu Prakash, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Delhi government, said.
He said, ‘Delhi hospitals have diesel back up. These are pressed into operation in case of power failure. Sufficient diesek stocks are available. There is no reason to panic. ‘Services in critical areas such as operation theatres and emergency departments are not effected. Even in wards lighting arrangement and fans are functioning.’
Authorities in hospitals such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdarjung hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College amongst others spoke of back-up systems being in operation.
‘We have generator back up for all units. All surgeries in the operation theatres are continuing and will go on smoothly,’ D K Sharma, Medical Superintendent, AIIMS, said.
Satyanarayan Makhwana, spokesperson, Safdarjung hospital said, ‘We have generator back-up set up by CPWD in all hospitals. Patient care has not been affected in this hospital.’
Delhi and various other areas in neighbouring states faced a power cut for the second successive day today as the Northern Grid failed again. Officials said the grid failed at around 1.30 pm.
Â
ESSENTIAL SERVICES HIT FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY
Entire Delhi went without power for the second successive day today as the Northern Grid tripped again, crippling various essential services such as Metro rail, trains and water distribution system in the city. Top Delhi Government officials said the situation became complex compared to Monday with tripping of the Eastern Grid also and it may take a couple of hours to restore supply to the essential services.
The officials said the Northern Grid failed at around 1.30 pm when the national capital had a demand of around 4,300 MW. Only 38 MW was being supplied around 1.45 pm.
A Power department official said various power generation plants running on hydel, coal and gas had to shut operations due to the tripping of the grid.
‘Due to the Northern Grid failure, all trains services have been suspended. Trains are being brought to the nearest station for evacuation,’ a Metro station official said.
An airport spokesperson said all essential services were shifted to the diesel generating back-up system. Traffic signals went blank in the city leading to traffic chaos in the entire city. Train services and functioning of various hospitals have also been affected due to the outages.
The water distribution system was another casualty of the power cut as functioning of all major water treatment plants across the city came to a halt. A Delhi Jal Board official said operations at six water treatment plants in the city have been seriously affected due to outages.
Delhi went without power for about eight hours on Monday following collapse of the grid which affected almost all the essential services. Officials said Power Minister Harun Yusuf is constantly monitoring the situation and officials are in touch with the Union Power Ministry and Power Grid Corporation, which maintains the Northern Grid.
Government had accused Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab for overdrawing power from the Northern Grid saying it led to its collapse, and urged the Union Power Minister to direct the states to follow discipline.
CITY STOPS AS TRAFFIC SIGNALS GO BLANK
Traffic was thrown out of gear in the capital this afternoon when signals went blank following power failure across north India.
Huge traffic jams were reported from various parts of the capital, including Connaught Place, ITO, Ashoka Road, India Gate and Laxmi Nagar.
‘Due to grid failure for the second time since yesterday, the city is without electricity in most of the areas. Traffic signals are not functioning due to power failure. We are trying to manage traffic with the help of police personnel. This slows down traffic,’ Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said.
Commuters were put to hardship as bus services were hit due to traffic jams. Auto drivers also refused to take passengers because of the traffic chaos. Â
Metro commuters spilled onto the roads in large numbers, choking traffic movement across the city. They collected near bus stands outside the Metro stations slowing down the traffic. Buses, following the unexpected surge, were unable to accommodate commuters creating chaos all around.
Almost all parts of Delhi reported to be choked during the peak breakdown period between 1-3 pm. Vikas Marg, the main arterial road of trans-Yamuna, was choked so was the Ring Road.
Connaught place, both inner and outer circle, south Delhi’s Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, the BRT corridor, Outer Ring road and several other arterial and colony roads faced jam or traffic moved at snail’s pace. Besides this, west and north Delhi’s Janakpuri, Rajouri Garden, Nangloi, Maurice Nagar, Jahangir Puri and Model Town areas were also affected due to Metro coming to a halt.
Several kilometre long jam could be seen on Ring Road near Raj Ghat as road caved at Nigambodh Ghat. The traffic flow could become normal only after 2.30 pm, said a traffic cop standing near Rajghat.
In New Delhi, near Talkatora stadium, Shankar Road, Jhandelwalan, RML roundabout and outer Delhi’s Rohini faced traffic jam during the time Metro remained out of service. Defunct traffic signals and blinkers in the morning and afternoon due to rainfall and failure of power supply added to the problem. ‘By 3.15 pm, the normal traffic was restored on roads,’ stated Garg. ‘A sudden rush came on the roads that led to traffic jams,’ said Garg when contacted. By afternoon, a semblance of normalcy was restored in most areas.
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