In the midst of the debate of whether the power grid will fail or not, the Prime Minister’s request to the nation was obediently followed by his citizens. Post the event, the power ministry put out a number that suggested the success of the Prime Minister’s initiative.
Last week, the Prime Minister addressed the nation through a pre-recorded video message about the lockdown and the country’s fight against the pandemic. The Prime Minister further requested the people to switch off the lights in their homes at 9 pm on Sunday and light candles, diyas or torches for 9 minutes. The previous week, the Prime Minister had asked people to clap for five minutes to show their gratitude to the medical professionals.
As soon as the announcement was made, it was reported that the power department had a herculean task at hand in order to make sure the smooth functioning of the Prime Minister’s initiative. It was reported that if people switch off all their appliances at once, there might be a sudden dip and steep surge when they switch on altogether that might increase the load in a split second. There were reports nullifying the same too. The Uttar Pradesh Power Board issued a circular asking people not to turn of any appliance or even the main switch.
PM’s Initiative A Huge Success
The Power Minister RK Singh put out a tweet on Sunday night stating that the Demand in the grid had come down by 32000 MW within a few minutes but the frequency and voltage were maintained throughout. He also pointed out that the massive 32000 MW shows the huge support for the Prime Minister’s initiative.
The social media further justified the claim with videos and photos pouring all over the country as people took part in the initiative expressing their solidarity in the fight against COVID-19. On the contrary, there were videos of people breaking the social distance protocol, bursting firecrackers and even taking out rallies against corona.
On the whole, the Prime Minister’s call was received well throughout the country as the nation felt a sense of togetherness. As the euphoria comes to a halt, India enters another week of the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak.
