Hospital faces power cut, mother delivers baby under cellphone flashlight

A woman in labour pain; a hospital without power or generator back-up; no doctor on duty; and a bunch of determined nursing staff – the situation looks similar to the one in popular Bollywood drama, 3 Idiots.

Except that this actually happened last Sunday at the government-run Civil Hospital in Gurgaon, also called the Millennium City. Mercifully, as in the movie, ‘all izz well’ for the mother and the new-born.

However, this brings to light the issue of erratic power distribution in a city that is home to large multinational corporate groups and upscale residential societies. While most private establishments bridge the supply-demand gap with the help of large, diesel-run power generators, the government institutions remain prey to mismanagement and apathy. Read More…