UP minister addresses event in dark after power outage

A power outage forced Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma to address an event in dark in Mau, his hometown.

The incident, video clips of which made their way to social media, led to action against four power department officials, at least two of them suspended, according to an official order.

Sharma was in Mau on Wednesday to participate in a three-day event to mark eight years of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.

In the evening, locals invited him to a felicitation ceremony at Hanuman Ghat, where the minister was forced to deliver his speech amid an outage.

The power failure lasted for hours on Bandh Road, one of the town's chief areas, with officials nowhere to be seen.

Following the event, as Sharma prepared to leave, he found himself in an awkward situation as he searched for his footwear using the flashlight from mobile phones.

The incident sparked discontent among BJP workers, some of whom alleged that local authorities deliberately caused an outage to tarnish the minister's image.

All the same, Sharma's composure despite the situation won favours of the locals who praised him for his simplicity and humility.

Meanwhile, superintendent engineer Sanjay Vaish has been asked for an explanation, while executive engineer Bhuvanraj Singh has been served a charge sheet.

Sub-Divisional Officer Prakash Singh and Junior Engineer OP Khushwaha have been suspended, according to the order.

The March 25-27 event saw participation of several other ministers, including Girish Chandra Yadav (Independent charge) and Panchayati Raj Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar.