India: Power Failures Set Off Protests
A blistering heat wave has swept across most parts of north and western India, causing widespread electricity cuts and leading residents to protest and even attack power company officials and property. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, enraged citizens in Bahraich set fire to a power station, and in Gorakhpur residents held power employees captive for more than 18 hours. The police said Thursday that at least 21 people had been arrested in the violence. Uttar Pradesh, home to 190 million people, is India's most populous state and one of its poorest. Its inadequate energy infrastructure has been unable to cope with the high demand for electricity as temperatures have peaked above 116 degrees in recent days. The state's chief minister said that the government was trying its best to provide en ough power.
A version of this brief appeared in print on May 24, 2013, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: India: Power Failures Set Off Protests.
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