Even the Prime Minister had no power, President turned to back-up

Lutyens' Delhi, home to the MPs, the Prime Minister and the President, experienced an uncomfortable afternoon as a blackout occurred at several places.

Lutyens' Delhi, home to the MPs, the Prime Minister and the President, experienced an uncomfortable afternoon as a blackout occurred at several places.

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The control room received 16 complaints of power cuts from VIP addresses and at 3.50 pm, there was a complaint from the Prime Minister's office. There were no complaints from Rashtrapati Bhavan since they switch to an alternate power in case of grid failure.

"There was a power failure that lasted for one-and-a-half hour but we managed to restore it," said an NDMC official.

Markets such as Connaught Place also faced a blackout and had to use inverters and generator to keep the lights and air-conditioners working. Shoppers, however, faced a harrowing time as they were stranded at the Rajiv Chawk metro station.

"I had come to shop for just half an hour at CP. After the electricity snapped, I thought I will go back but am stuck," said Anuradha Kumar who was stranded outside the metro station.

From 1pm to 2.30pm, there was no electricity even at the Palika Kendra, headquarters of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). "Work was stuck for some time as the computers could not be operated. Lights came back at 2.30pm after which work normalised," said an NDMC official.