Monkey menace in Sri Lanka: A monkey in Sri Lanka caused a power outage, plunging the island nation into darkness on Sunday, an official said. The official added that the entire grid failed around 11:30 am, and the power could only be restored after several hours. Power Minister Kumara Jayakodi said, "A monkey came into contact with a substation of the power grid at Panadura", adding that the state power entity restored power at key installations, including the national hospital, after an hour of disruption. The government also issued a warning that water supplies could be badly affected.
Sri Lanka witnesses frequent power cuts: Here's why
Earlier, in another similar incident, Sri Lanka had to undergo a 90-minute power cut on Monday and Tuesday following a breakdown in a coal power plant. The state power entity, Ceylon Electricity Board, arrived at this decision given the shortage of supply owing to the failure at the 900-megawatt Norochcholai coal power plant in the northwestern region.
In a statement, the Ceylon Electricity Board said that the 90-minute rationing will be in two slots between 3 pm and 9.30 pm in different areas on both days.
This recent incident of power cuts comes as the first power rationing since August 2022 when the country plunged into an economic crisis, leading to a shortage of essential commodities, including fuel and power.
India helped Sri Lanka to tackle power cuts
Earlier, the power cuts in the island nation were attributed to forex shortages, leading to 12-hour power cuts with long queues for fuel and essentials. This forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and later resign following street protests between April and July 2022. Notably, a USD 4 billion credit line from India helped Sri Lanka in recovery efforts.
(With inputs from AP)
Also Read | Chennai power cut: Electricity outage in multiple areas in city | Check localities, timings
