Hundreds of millions without power after Indian grid goes down for second time in 2 days

nbcnews.com ^ | July 31, 2012 | NBC News and wire reports

[John W]

NEW DELHI -- Half of India's 1.2 billion people were without power Tuesday as the grids covering 19 states broke down, the second major blackout in as many days.

Stretching from Assam, near China, to the Himalayas and the deserts of Rajasthan, the power cut was the worst to hit India in more than a decade. The power loss includes grid failures in northern, eastern and northeastern India.

Trains were stranded in Kolkata and New Delhi and thousands of people poured out of the sweltering capital's modern metro system when it ground to a halt at lunchtime. Office buildings switched to diesel generators and traffic jammed the roads.

The cut left hundreds of miners trapped underground in Kolkata, Sky News reported, citing AFP.

The power outage is likely the largest ever in India, the Economic Times reported.

[uncommonsense]

"the North American power grid (Canada's wired into it too) was designed to handle loads no bigger than those seen in the '60s.

And that's why everyone should be driving a government subsidized electric car! (No wait, that would create an even greater stress on the fragile grid...) /sarc

[dragnet2]

India is highly corrupt, which is something that the US could exploit competitively

Our foreign affairs aren't screwed up enough, lets attempt to exploit more countries....

Gezzz..

[TurboZamboni]

Livin in an Al Gore paradise.

[Mamzelle]

Sigh. If your competitor is corrupt it is sometimes to your advantage. If India can’t provide a safe and fair place to do business we might be able to attract some of our expat business back! Such competition is absolutely fair game.

[Mamzelle]

Go to china smack dot com and see the human remains they drop in the Ganges and allow to decompose. Nothing much romantic about India for me.

[liberalh8ter]

I’ve seen it and it’s shocking. It’s the Hindu customs that as an observer, interest me.

[dragnet2]

If India can’t provide a safe and fair place to do business we might be able to attract some of our expat business back! Such competition is absolutely fair game.

You seem a bit slow.

Ya see the only thing you'll attacked here from India are more people from India which we certainly do not need. Might be a shock to you but fairness and safety have zip to do with anything when it comes to dirt cheap labor.

[Mamzelle]

I'm slow, so I'll hasten to catch up with the lightning brilliance of your exposition.

Companies went to Mexico for cheap labor. Guess how that worked out?

puff-puff-puff, rushing ....

Well, not so good, Mexico. It got dangerous and corrupt and the companies left.

puff-puff-puff

Many of them went to India, which had the traditions and law patterns of Great Britain as well as a cheap labor source.

Somehow, I think if the incompetent and corrupt government of India does not deliver reliable energy and the corporations start to become afraid of the behaviors of that chap labor, we might be in a position to attract some business back.

Are you you such an advanced intelligence that this makes no sense? Slow as I may be...I think you might slow down your dazzling intellectual speed to consider my argument, humbly chugging along at the speed limit.

Did you know that kidnapping for ransom has become almost as commonplace in Mumbai and Delhi as in Mexico City?

[dragnet2]

Well, not so good, Mexico. It got dangerous and corrupt and the companies left.

Can I see a list of all the companies who opened up shop in Mexico and left within the past 10 years due to fairness and safety?

Thanks.

Once again, fairness and safety have zip to do with anything when it comes to off shoring for the dirt cheap labor.

Ya think Communist China is safe and fair?

Lets see ya twist into knots and explain that.

[dragnet2]

Many of them went to India, which had the traditions and law patterns of Great Britain as well as a cheap labor source.

Law patterns? LOL!

Did you know that kidnapping for ransom has become almost as commonplace in Mumbai and Delhi as in Mexico City?

Oh sure, all these companies are going to run back to the U.S. because India might be unsafe or unfair.

All these American companies+ more, moved to India. Which ones have come back from India due to lack of fairness or safety?

Agilent

Agro Tech

American Express

Amway

Avaya

Caltex

Caterpillar

CB Richard Ellis

Cisco

Citigroup

Coca Cola

Cognizant

Colgate Palmolive

CSC

Cummins

Discovery

Dupont

EDS

Eli Lilly

Emerson Electric

EXL

Federal Express

Ford

Franklin Templeton

GE

General Motors

Gillette

Honeywell

BM

Intel

Johnson & Johnson

JPMorgan

Kellogg India

Kimberly Clark

Kodak

McDonalds

Metlife

Microsoft

Morgan Stanley

New York Life

Ogilvy and Mather

Oracle

Pepsico

Pfizer

Pizza Hut

Sun Microsystems

Texas

Tecumseh

Timex

Tyco

UPS

Visteon

Whirlpool

Xerox Modicorp

Take your time