Weather blamed for India's power crisis

A relative holds a drip in one hand and a candle in another for a patient at the state-owned Hamidia hospital in Bhopal. The power failure caused even emergency operations to be delayed

(CNN) -- With the worst drought in years gripping parts of India, the weather is also being made responsible for a major power outage that has left most of the country's west in the dark.

The unanticipated two-day blackout has prompted scenes of violence, forcing India's police and security officials to be out in force.

A fifth of the entire South Asian nation plunged into black as the western power grid collapsed on Tuesday -- unable to handle the power needs of the world's second-most populous nation.

The blackout left, among other areas, the whole of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Goa and Maharashtra -- except Mumbai -- without power, as well as parts of Rajasthan.

Water supplies were cut, health facilities crippled and trains stranded for hours.

All of it has been blamed on the weather.

"This is unfortunately happening at a time when we are affected by the worst drought in the last one-and-a-half decades. In fact the generation could be down by as high as 30 percent," Indian Power Minister Suresh Prabhu says.

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Since April, many Indian states have been gripped by drought, further straining already stretched resources.

Last year India produced 7.5 percent less power than is required, but with rapid industrialization, demand is rising by almost 7 percent each year and power generation has not been able to keep up.

Experts say that India needs to find a solution, and quickly.

"Basically we have to find a way to meet the energy supply imbalance both on the demand side and the supply side," energy expert, K Ramanathan says.

It is late in the day, but energy specialists believe India's power needs can be met if some careful planning is done immediately.

The planning is required not just for power generation but for distribution as well. India loses in distribution almost half the power it produces, at a cost of over $5 billion.

Experts say that it would be hard for a developing nation to make much headway if it cannot keep the power lines humming.