Delhi's peak power demand reaching pre-Covid levels as economy opens up

 The peak power demand of Delhi is fast catching up with pre-COVID levels as an increasing number of economic activities are being allowed under the Centre's 'Unlock' process, discom officials said.

In September this year, the peak power demand was just 5.9 per cent lower as compared to the corresponding month last year.

"In April, during the height of COVID-19-induced lockdown, there was a gap of around 40 per cent in comparison to the peak power demand of 2019.

"The gap reduced to just about 5.9 in September. The peak power demand in September 2019 was 6,626 MW, while it was 6,231 MW this year," discom officials said.

Moreover, ever since the restrictions were eased on May 18, Delhi's peak power demand has increased by over 50 per cent. Compare the peak power demand since April 2020, it has increased by over 87 per cent, they said.

This year, due to the lockdown and weather conditions, the peak power demand recorded has been muted (6,314 MW on June 29, 2020).

Delhi's all-time high peak power demand was recorded on July 2, 2019, when it clocked 7,409 MW.

During the height of lockdown, there was a sharp reduction in the power demand during the day due to closure of commercial and industrial establishments.

However, there was no impact on Delhi's domestic load, which is around 75 per cent of the total power load of the city.

Infact, there was a slight increase in this category, they said.

"After the end of the lockdown 3.0 on May 17 and easing of restrictions, Delhi's peak power has started increasing and the gap has narrowed.

Though Delhi's peak power demand in September 2020 was 6,231 MW as compared to 6,626 MW last year, this year, it surpassed the corresponding peak power demand of last year on 14 days by up to 28 per cent," discom officials said.

Earlier, in July and August this year, Delhi's peak power demand surpassed last year's peak power demand on corresponding days on 13 occasions 7 days in July and 6 days in August, they added.

'World is watching': US lawmakers express concern over Delhi violence

The violence over the amended citizenship act in India's capital New Delhi drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump.

Reacting to the violence that has claimed at least 13 lives in the past a couple of days, US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying".

"Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she said in a tweet, adding that the "world is watching".

The Indian Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country.

Pramila Jayapal had last year introduced a Congressional resolution urging India to end the restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir and preserve religious freedom for all residents.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal too termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership".

"We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said.

Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren also a swipe at the violence, saying, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable."

Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India."

The violence in Delhi prominently featured in the mainstream media.
The Washington Post reported,"The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

"As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighborhood," The New York Times said.

In a tweet, US Commission for International Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi".

It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities.

Triangular contest in all seven seats as Delhi goes to polls on Sunday

The stage is set as the National Capital goes to polls on Sunday where the incumbent BJP,  Delhi's ruling AAP and the Congress are locked in a fight on all seven Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress is looking to bounce back after ending up at the third spot in the 2014 elections.

The lead up to the polls has not been without drama, with allegations and counter-allegations flying, and with all the trappings of a soap opera that could give the daily shows a run for their money.

The high-octane poll campaigning in the national capital ended on Friday but not before it saw a plethora of stars descending here to campaign for their respective parties.

If Hema Malini and Sunny Deol provided the Bollywood quotient to the saffron party's campaign, Raj Babbar and Nagma added the star quotient to the Congress. Prakash Raj, Swara Bhaskar and Gul Panag campaigned for the AAP.

From Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being slapped to AAP's East Delhi candidate Atishi breaking down at a press conference over "derogatory pamphlets" to BJP's Udit Raj leaving the party and joining the Congress after being denied a ticket from northwest Delhi, the last two months been quite eventful and have kept everyone on their toes.

The seven seats will see 164 candidates battling it out of which 18 are women. Prominent among them are former chief minister Sheila Dikshit from northeast Delhi, BJP's incumbent MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who is contesting from New Delhi, and Atishi.

BJP's incumbent MP Manoj Tiwari is up against Dikshit for the Northeast Delhi seat and has already said that her entry has made the poll contest "one of the most interesting in the country". AAP's Dilip Pandey is also in the fray from the seat.

Other prominent candidates in the race include veteran Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, Olympian boxer Vijender Singh, who is making his electoral debut from South Delhi, Union minister Harsh Vardhan from Chandni Chowk, and cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir.

Voting will begin at 7 am on May 12 and it is scheduled to go on till 6 am.

The 48 hour-period from 6 pm Friday to 6 pm Sunday, known as the silence period, will also be observed as 'dry day'.

A total of 13,819 polling stations will be set up at 2,700 locations in Delhi, with one model polling station in each of the 70 assembly segments. Seventeen polling stations will be staffed only by women.

As many as 523 polling locations have been identified as critical and 60,000 personnel, including those of the Delhi Police, Home Guards and paramilitary, will be on their toes to ensure that there is no untoward incident.

The campaign got off to a slow start as alliance talks between the AAP and the Congress lingered on till the last days of nomination, but it gained momentum over the last fortnight with senior leaders drawing huge crowds at mega rallies and road shows in the national capital.

The campaign reached a crescendo in its last lap, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a massive rally at the iconic Ramlila Maidan here, Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressing two public meetings, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking out two roadshows in the city.

From trying to strike a personal chord with voters in parks at six am to holding door-to-door campaigns till late night, the candidates literally sweated it out in the oppressive heat as mercury crossed the 40-degree Celsius mark.

While the BJP's campaign revolved around the party's high-pitched nationalism narrative and the popularity of Modi, the Congress kept him in the cross hairs and sought to hard sell its minimum income guarantee scheme, Nyay.

The AAP, on the other hand, focussed on the demand for full statehood for Delhi.

Candidates also tried to out-maneuver each other before the poll body. AAP candidates Atishi and Raghav Chadha sought rejection of nomination papers of their BJP rivals Gautam Gambhir and Ramesh Bidhuri, respectively.

Poll officers were also hard-pressed as several violations of the Model Code of Conduct were reported.

In a security breach, Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a road show in Moti Nagar and allegations of horse trading flew thick and fast as two AAP MLAs, Anil Bajpai and Devinder Sehrawat, crossed over to the BJP.

The campaigning also saw South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri allegedly using a Hindi slur against Kejriwal. On the penultimate day, the AAP and the BJP sparred over a derogatory pamphlet that targeted Atishi.

The AAP alleged her rival Gautam Gambhir was behind it, a charge vehemently denied by him.

According to the summary of the electoral roll published on April 23, there are over 14.3 million voters in Delhi, 78,73,022 male and 64,42,762 female, while 669 belong to the third gender.

While 2,54,723 voters are in the age group of 18 and 19, there are 40,532 electorate with disability who would be provided pick up and drop facility.

Nearly 270 FIRs and daily diary (DD) entries were registered against political parties and others here till date for violation of the poll code.