Lucknow: Thousands of people enraged by power cuts during an extreme heat wave have been protesting across northern India, setting electricity sub-stations on fire and taking power company officials hostage, officials said.
A state utility official Narendra Nath Mullick said thousands ransacked an electricity substation on Friday near Uttar Pradesh’s capital city Lucknow, taking several workers hostage until police intervened on Saturday morning.
Elsewhere, angry crowds set fire to electricity substations in Gonda and Gorakhpur.
The mercury touched a new high of 47 degrees celsius in the state capital, while Allahabad was the hottest place in the state with 48.3 degrees celsius. Banda was a close second with 47.6 degrees celsius.
In most other places, the maximum temperature hovered between 44 and 47 degrees celsius, the Met office said, adding there will no respite from the intense heat in the coming days.
Bureau Report
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