Power cuts cause riots in India

In northern India power cuts have led to rioting after many areas experienced lack of electricity as the high temperatures of summer increased.

Police officers tried to use tear gas to break up the rioters who caused damage to vehicles belonging to the police force and barricaded the roads as well as the railway lines. A power transformer was also set ablaze as staff of the electricity firm were attacked in various cities and towns in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The state of Uttar Pradesh has a population of approximately one hundred and eighty million people and is considered one of the most underprivileged regions in India. It has poor energy infrastructure which has proved incapable of meeting the increasing requirements for electricity which has been exacerbated by the high temperatures which have gone beyond forty degrees Celsius.

Many of the cities and towns in the state of Uttar Pradesh have only had electricity available to them for just half of the day. This has left most of the population bereft of the electricity needed for air regulation and even for pumping water.

Reports indicate that after the riots over two hundred and fifty people were arrested.

In one of the worst hit areas by the power cuts, Gorakhpur, where electricity has not been available for over twenty four hours, protesters forced their way into an office belonging to the electricity board where a number of employees were taken hostage while others were attacked. An electricity transformer was also damaged by fire.