BLAME GAME

India’s Power Is Restored

Government officials start to point fingers.

Electricity has been restored to India, and the country’s power minister is really trying to avoid “a blame game between the state and the center.” An area consisting of around 670 million people, half of India and nearly 10 percent of the world population, was affected by the blackout that began Tuesday, after three power grids went down. Coal miners were trapped, cars were jammed on highways, and commuters were stranded on trains. While the federal government initially pointed its finger at a few northern states for taking more electricity from their grid than allotted, the power secretary from one of those states pointed out that it is the federal government’s job to warn states if they are using too much power. “This hype that states are overdrawing is the reason for the collapse is not right,” he said, insisting it’s still too soon to place blame.