On Tuesday, July 31 India experienced what is being called the largest blackout ever. Twenty of the twenty-eight Indian states were without power for hours, leaving 620 million people, twice the population of the United States, without power.

Three regional grids completely collapsed on Tuesday, and one – the northern grid – also collapsed on Monday which is considered the second largest blackout ever after affecting 370 million people. The grids affected include the northern, eastern, and northeastern grids as well as the areas of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Jharkhand.

It is not uncommon for India to experience small, local power failures, but power failures of this scope are almost unheard of. The last time the northern grid failed completely was 2001. Recently officials have announced that the northeastern grid is completely operational, while the northern and eastern grids are at 75% and 40% capacity respectively.

The power outage has affected both those who do not have access to electricity in their homes – about one-third of the country – and those who do. Trains stopped and hospitals began running on backup generators. According to BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan, “more than half of India’s population has ground to a halt.” Many of the trains have started running again recently but now they are extremely backlogged.

Two hundred miners in West Bengal were also trapped because the lifts they use run on electricity. One mine official, Nildari Roy, stated, “We are waiting for the restoration of power to bring them up through the lifts, but there is no threat to their lives or any reason to panic.” No one so far has been reported as injured.

Anu Chopra, a shop-worker in Delhi said “I can understand this happening once in a while but how can one allow such a thing to happen two days in a row? It just shows our infrastructure is in a complete mess. There is no transparency and no accountability whatsoever.”

The Indian Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde claims that the power failure is due to the states taking too much from the national grid. “Everyone overdraws from the grid. Just this morning I held a meeting with power officials from the states and I gave directions that states that overdraw should be punished. We have given instructions that their power supply could be cut.”

Shinde was promoted to Home Minister, the top internal security official, on July 31 during a cabinet shuffling that was planned before all of these events occurred.

One state, Uttar Pradesh, has several officials protesting, claiming it is not their fault. One official from Uttar Pradesh stated that there is “no reason to believe that any power operations in Uttar Pradesh triggered it.”

The Chairman of the Power Grid Corporation of India also made an announcement stating, “we have to see why there was a sudden increase in load… we will make sure that such a situation is not repeated. Our message to people is that they are in safe hands, we have been in the job for years.”

Many believe that the power shortages are also related to the shortage of energy in India and the aging grid system. Past power failures have caused protests and unrest, according to the BBC.  Additionally, the economy of India has been growing but the power infrastructure has not been doing the same, meaning that the growing demand for power is not being met.

Bharatiya Janat Patry spokesman, Prakash Javadekar, criticized the government handling of the power failures and energy crisis. “It is a huge failure of the management in the power sector by the UPA government. Their failure is twin failure. It is management failure as well as the police failure.”

The power deficit at India in recent months has been as high as eight percent. Additionally, a lot of power is pirated through illegal wiring woven into the electrical system.

A weak monsoon season may also have added to the strain on the system. The hydroelectric generation was down and temperatures were higher which caused electrical usage to increase.

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A strong contingent of 600 monks and nuns led by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa (spiritual head of the Drukpa Lineage) are on a Pad Yatra (walking pilgrimage) from Mumbai to Sanchi via Ajanta Ellora spreading the message of peace, harmony, goodwill and respect for the environment.

The Pad Yatra was formally flagged off from Mumbai, India’s corporate capital on 10th December. This Pad Yatra will pass through Ajanta Ellora (a UNESCO world heritage site) between 24th to 29th December, and ends in Bhopal on 6th January 2012. The walk will finally conclude formally in Delhi on 8th January with a public discourse by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa wherein he will again reinforce his message of respect for nature and the environment.

His Holiness is the recipient of United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) award for his efforts towards the environment. Earlier, in 2010, his Holiness had led a drive to safeguard the Himalayas by ensuring plantation of a million trees in the Ladakh region, a feat that was recognised by the Guinness World Records.

The total distance covered by these crusaders is over 1500 kilometres out of which around 750 kilometres would be on foot. Thousands of people, including 450 monks and nuns, followers and supporters are taking part in the Pad Yatra, along with various national and international celebrities and Drukpa followers.

During the Pad Yatra, the crusaders stay in either local schools, dharmashalas, or in the open, embraced by nature. They carry their own food items, cook at the halts, and also carry all other necessary items for daily usage and for sleeping. They continue to pick up eco-waste along the way, and so far, over 1 ton of eco-waste has been collected which is at various legs handed over to the local authorities for proper disposal.

This is the 5th Pad Yatra that His Holiness is undertaking. Since 2006, His Holiness has taken students on foot-journeys through Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, Manali, Sikkim and Darjeeling; each time, the Yatris picked up more than one ton of non-biodegradable waste and educated people in the remote areas about the importance of keeping the environment clean and green for future generations.

The Pad Yatra, aiming to bridge spirituality and materialism through promoting a life in harmony with nature, will cover other notable destinations such as the Kanheri Caves, Elephanta Caves, Kondana Caves, Karjat, Rajmarchi, Karla Bhaja, and Aurangabad.

This uncommon Pad Yatra is a brainchild of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa. Visiting power-places of great blessings, promoting awareness on environmental issues as well as encouraging spiritual development within oneself through familiarizing with the breath of nature are the things that His Holiness always does, on foot.

Talking about this quest and spiritual adventure, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa said, “This Pad Yatra symbolises the journey from self to selflessness. On the personal side, this is an effort to come closer to nature and enjoy its bounty by way of an encounter of the close kind. On another front, this is an effort to raise awareness about the environment, and ensuring that there is widespread education on the various facets that focus on environment and sustainability subjects.”

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